Return of the Forgotten
by blueper
Summary: The giant war raged for nearly 2 years. Percy and Jason, leaders of the demigod army found a way to end the war but at a terrible cost. Years later a former ally pops up with grave news about an old and terrible evil. Can the Greeks and Romans stop this new threat to their peace? Or will they finally face an enemy so terrible and so strong that not even they can beat? Short HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

A/N. Alright so this takes place after the giant war has raged for about two years and I have changed one word in the prophecy, it now reads like this: _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire, the earth must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death._

_Edit (2/15/2013)_

When I first wrote this stoy I didn't realize I had written it in first person view. I know it sounds dumb but yeah somehow I overlooked it. I changed it at ch 4, and I might go back one day and rewrite it so ch 1,2,3 are also 3rd person view but not right now. Anyways read on and hope you enjoy

Percy POV

I stood at my window and as I watched the sun set behind the buildings of our most recent headquarters and cast its last rays of sunlight over our camp I couldn't help but feel momentarily at peace, a welcome respite from stress that has been added on to our shoulders little by little day after day. I turned my head to my door as I heard footsteps approaching growing louder by the second.

"It's time" Jason Grace, former Praetor of Camp Jupiter, Son of Jupiter, slayer of way too many monsters and giants only for them to rise again, fellow commander of the slowly dwindling demi-god army, and my current best friend, walked into my quarters and stood next to me to also stare out of the window towards the coming night.

"So it is" I responded, "will you gather the rest of the seven and have them meet us at the war room?" I asked. The seven, I mentally snorted, at one time every demi-god envied us for playing such a crucial role in the great prophecy and hopefully bringing great honor and prestige to our respective camps. Now, it was no more than an empty title, a reminder that day in and day out, we were not living up to expectations, that every day we lost a camper, it was partially our fault for not having ended the war already.

"No problem Percy, but are you sure about this? Isn't there some other way. I'm sure tha-" Jason started to say before I cut him off.

"There is no other way Jason, we know the end result and we know the consequences. Since this is my idea I can't expect anyone but me to pay the price. That being said, I won't reveal the repercussions nor the methods at the war meeting. Only that we must gather for one final assault and we will discuss what preparations we need to make in order to pull this off. Its been so long since we had any kind hope Jason. Now isn't the time to dampen it simply to assuage our guilty consciences." I reminded him forcefully. Jason could only nod along, sure he understood where I was coming from but that didn't mean that he liked it any more than I did. Thankfully he didn't argue any further. As he turned to leave I called out to him.

"Jason, about my request.." I asked quietly trailing off hoping I wouldn't have to repeat myself.

"Consider it done my friend. For both of your requests, even though I still disagree with the latter." He responded.

"Thats alright, this war has had many villains, theres no need to add our own heroes to that list." I informed him.

Jason just shook his head as if disagreeing but thankfully he didn't voice his concerns out loud and simply left with one last parting comment. "I'll see you down there in 20 minutes, I'll follow your lead, and inform the Olympian Council of our plans tomorrow."

Jason POV

As I walked into the war room, as it had been officially dubbed, and took my seat after I had gathered all our friends, I couldn't help but feel a slight pang of regret for what was to come. We were about to lie to some of our closest friends, all in order to protect them sure, but us being demi-gods, we didn't want to be protected, we wanted in on the action too.

As everybody started filing in I also saw the faces of those campers we'd lost over the war. Some like my good friend Dakota had fought to the bitter end until recently dieing on his latest quest. Others like our allies the Hunters of Artemis and the Amazons had been all but wiped out near the beginning, when we were surprise attacked by the giants. It had been a plan worthy of Athena, they had fed us false information that they were attacking Mt Olympus in Greece on the winter solstice, when really they could do it whenever they wanted and used that day to lure the strongest of our warriors away from camp so that they're near endless army of the earthborn could march to Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-blood simultaneously and cripple our defense forces.

If anything, seeing all the faces of all the friends I failed to protect just strengthened my resolve. This plan we had, it may not have been the perfect plan for what we want, but its our last chance to actually end this war. And as Percy walked in and took his place at the head of the table I saw that no one wanted this war to end more than Percy did. Of course he would though, his fatal flaw being excessive personal loyalty, he must feel immeasurable guilt and grief at the fact that he kept surviving battle after battle while his friends did not. Not only that but Gaea had done everything in her power to tear Percy down and break his will. Going even so far as to kidnap his mom and step-dad, erase their memories in the river Lethe and then hide them from the gods. There are few fates worse than knowing that your parents are alive, but cannot and will not ever remember you again, and worse still, not even being able to see them since they were hidden from you. No, Gaea had truly turned this into a war where no one was safe and no move was taboo.

Out of all of us, Percy had definitely suffered some of the worst tortures Gaea could come up with. As he sat down, the whole council fell into silence in order to hear him speak. Those few veteran demi-gods that remained and could still fight. They included the seven, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Me, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Piper McClean, and Leo Valdez. Representing the Greek side as well was Nico Di Angelo, Thalia Grace lieutenant of the hunters of Artemis, Clarisse La Rue, Travis Stoll, and Katie Gardener. All other veterans from the Titan war had been the first casualties and targets of the giants.

From the Roman side we had my good friends Reyna, Bobby, Adam and Gwen. Tragically both Bobby and Gwen had been captured and held prisoner at different times by the Giant Hippolytus after catching them spying on their plans. Even after going through all that, as soon as they were rescued they went right back to the same infiltration missions they had before. Although each one decided that maybe switching up their partners would be a good idea. Gwen had just returned from her latest infiltration mission today with Travis and we were gathering to discuss what they had found out about the giants.

"As you all know, Gwen and Travis have just recently returned from their latest mission to spy on Porphyrion and Gaea. I'm not gonna sugar coat it guys. Things are looking bad, it seems the hour of the prophecy is finally at hand. But now I'll let them give their full report. And please," with this Percy gave a quick glance to Annabeth that she didn't quite catch, "hold all your questions until the end."

Travis cleared his throat and began, "The giants have decided to awaken Gaea before they march to Olympus." After this he held his hand up as it looked like several people were about to interrupt. "They seek to destroy the original position of the Doors of Death in ancient Rome, yes I know you guys already solved that issue by giving control back to Thanatos, but similar to destroying the original Olympus, if they destroy the original location of the Doors of Death, the huge amount of power it will unleash will be able to be harnessed to fully awaken Gaea from her slumber. This is planned to happen 2 weeks from now, with Porphyrion, Thoas, and Pallas as the giants chosen to destroy the doors. The remaining 5 will launch a preemptive strike on this camp in order to buy their brothers enough time should we catch wind of their movements and try to mess things up as usual. And if they do manage to wake Gaea, I'm sorry to say this guys, but, we stand no chance."

His last words said in a near whisper were never the less heard by a stunned audience of heroes in the room that remained silent until Thalia decided to speak up.

"Thats crazy! We've survived this long with the giants constantly reviving themselves and capturing our allies. Surely Gaea isn't such a big tipping point in power... is she?" No one wanted to answer this question, because deep down we all wondered. If the war was this hard with Gaea sleeping, what kind of destruction awaited us if she actually managed to wake up?

"No doubt Gaea is only taking 3 of her children with her in hopes of moving in secrecy and not alerting us to her actions. The attack on our camp is meant to confuse us and back us into a corner while forcing us to rethink all strategies we have against the giants in this war. If their attack is successful then they have struck a decisive blow to our forces, and if we manage to retreat and evacuate camp in time to save our forces then they have still successfully bought their King time to accomplish his own mission. In short it is a win-win situation for them either way. A truly masterful plan." Annabeth laced her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands after breaking down and pointing out the true objective of the giant's upcoming attack.

I couldn't help but scowl at her words, but quickly wiped that off my face for I was one of the two commanders of this army and it wouldn't do to show weakness at this point in time.

A loud sigh escaped Percy's lips at hearing these words. And I couldn't help but think that this latest news was both a blessing and a curse for our plans. A blessing because this provided us an almost perfect opportunity to end this war for good and we would be fools to pass this up. A curse because in order to actually pull this off and not scare the giants away from what was rapidly turning into a decisive battle in our favor we would surely have to fight off 3 of the strongest giants without the aid of the Elder Three gods, since they would be needed to fight off the invasion at camp in order to fool the giants into thinking we'd fallen into their trap and convince them to go ahead with their original plan.

I for one knew it would be next to impossible to convince my father to stay behind, all of the elder 3 in fact would be hard pressed to actually listen and stay behind. Poseidon because he would naturally want to aid Percy, my uncle Pluto would want to assist his favored daughter Hazel, and of course my father Jupiter believes that a commander fights on the front lines along with his soldiers, so it'll be near impossible for him not to try and fight alongside me in the final battle.

"This was definitely a bad news situation, so I guess it's a good thing that we saved the good news for last." Percy said with a low hollow chuckle. And as everyone else looked on in confusion and some with a slight glimmer of hope in their eyes I picked up where he left off in his train of thought.

"Bobby, Katie, Nyssa, and Jake have been gathering certain items over the last year, you all know this. What you don't know is why we asked them to gather everything in the first place. But I can finally tell you that it has to do with striking a fatal blow to mother Earth and her forces." As the captains of our army started to whisper to each other and increase in volume I had to raise my voice and speak over them.

"Percy and I have found a spell of sorts that should allow us to forcefully put Gaea to sleep for at least a millennium and simultaneously wipe her memories from now going as far back as the first Giant-Olympian war. And it's not really a spell but more along the lines of a very specific procedure that forcefully puts her to sleep and gives similar effects to bathing in the river Lethe." More excited whispers followed my words. Once again I had to remind them that I had the floor so to speak.

"Because of this new weapon we have been lucky to come across, and unlike our quests with the Epirus bow,and the Arrows of Heracles used in the original Giant-Olympian war, we also believe we have very nearly deciphered the prophecy of seven. With only one line that remains unclear but that will no doubt reveal itself at the coming battle." Technically not all true, as Percy and I were almost certain we knew exactly what the prophecy now meant. This was the cause of most of our recent disputes since I refused to accept that such a price had to be paid to complete our destiny even though the prophecy seemed to leave no room for error based on what we had guessed the words truly pointed to.

"Well can you explain what you think it means then? Maybe if we pool our ideas we can clear up that last line you mentioned." said Reyna. One of the few who seemed to be thinking clearly and not just in a state of shock. Or maybe the full force of everything that was said hadn't hit her yet and she was just plowing through all of this with determination alone.

"Sure thing" I answered, "The first line is obvious, _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, _this refers to Hazel, Frank, me, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo. Seven of the strongest demi-gods alive that also each have a specific past of some type with Gaea like in Leo and Frank's case or one of the giants like in mine and Hazel's situation."

"_To storm or fire, the earth must fall. _This line was confusing at first, but that's because we only now realized that it doesn't point to anyone specific like the previous line. Earth we originally thought referred to the world and thus civilization, which we wrongly assumed meant that either us or the giants would inevitably destroy the planet. We were wrong, as we recently realized that earth also means Earth, as in Terra, Vale, or in other words Gaea" Percy continued, and at this point just about everyone was sitting up with backs straight and holding their breath not daring to break our explanation for fear of missing something crucial.

Noting their attentive gazes on him Percy decided to forge ahead with his explanation, "The storm or fire doesn't necessarily mean destruction in the form of some super weapon to wipe out our enemies, we think it refers to several possible candidates of the seven that can thwart our fiercest enemy. It means either Jason, Frank or Leo will be the ones to take down Gaea. Jason has control over storms as the sky is his fathers domain, so 'storm' could refer to him. The 'fire' part could be either Leo who has been blessed with control over fire by Lord Hephaestus, a rare gift, or Frank, who quite literally wields the fire of life, his own life in the form of the burned stick he used to free Thanatos." Of course Percy left out one final candidate and knowing this I couldn't help but wince internally at the thought of what our friends would do when they found out. Still, there is always a chance it won't be that candidate at all. Even if it is a small one.

"_An oath to keep with a final breath_, this line is where we still don't really know what it means, but hopefully it'll clear up during the battle." As I said that I couldn't help but notice the slight frown that crossed Frank's face as he subtly glanced at Percy but left just as quickly as it appeared.

"_And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. _This is where it gets a bit tricky. Not because of the wording, but because of the meaning. So before I continue I want all of you to promise me that you will let me finish and explain our reasoning behind this before you decide to completely throw this idea out the window." Having said that I met the eyes of each and every single person in the room, receiving glares from some, looks of curiosity from others, and plain old trust in the rest of the people there, all of them silently agreeing to my demands.

"Well okay, obviously the last few words all but confirm the location of the final battle as Travis and Gwen have just told us this is where Gaea plans to be reawakened from her slumber. The foes part though, that doesn't just refer to our two sides of the war meeting one last time, but it actually refers to who we bring with us. The person who gave us the means to finally put mother Earth to sleep is Rhea, Queen of the Titans and former Queen of the Heavens. And considering that it was both of our camps that fought and triumphed over the Titans in the war not even 3 years ago, I think I can safely say she is the foe that will bear arms alongside us."

"Well I guess I was right from the beginning, we won't get along with our counterparts when we meet at the Doors after all." Clarisse spoke up, but strangely enough, it wasn't with a voice full of disdain nor anger, no it held a mixture of boredom and slight caution, nevertheless it seemed that she accepted our newest ally in this war. Whether it was because she had trust in the two of us or because she didn't think one Titan was enough of a threat remained to be seen.

"Percy, Jason, are you guys sure about this? I mean the Titans aren't exactly known for their benevolence you know. What is it that she asked for and received in exchange for her help in this?" asked a frowning Hazel. No doubt voicing the concerns everyone must be feeling at the moment.

"Yes, we're sure guys. We wouldn't have even brought it up had we not checked and double checked her offer over and over again. As for the price? Its something we can easily give after the war, and that truthfully should have been given ages ago in order to prevent new wars. She just wants free reign to be able to see her family again, the free Titans like Calypso and Phoebe, or her nephews Prometheus and Epemetheus. Guys this is our best shot at ending this. And if things go the way they seem to be, it may be our last real hope to end it as well. Because after Gaea awakens, not even the former Queen of the Heavens will be able to save us from her wrath." Percy almost decided to drop down and plead for them to hear reason, but he knew he couldn't, because he was a commander, and commanders orders must be followed, they don't beg their soldiers to follow orders.

Reluctantly it seemed, everyone else looked at one another and all agreed to follow our plan in 2 weeks. Maybe because they truly did trust us to never lead them astray, but probably because they too knew that this was our best and perhaps only chance to return to a time of peace once again, a peace we hadn't fully enjoyed since before the Titans became active almost 6 years ago. And with our meeting concluding we all decided to head to bed and rest after such a stressful and revealing day. Although I decided to catch Frank on the way out. Because that look he gave Percy troubled me, it was a look I knew well, a look I saw staring back at me every morning in my bathroom mirror. It was the look of someone that is uncertain if they can do the right thing when the time comes. And I couldn't have that, not now, not when we're so close to the finish line.

Frank POV

I decided not to head straight to bed after that meeting we just had. As used to war as we've become lately, this was just too much for one day. I mean yeah the good news was great, but at the same time revealing the prophecy, it unnerved me and yeah even scared me a little. But who wouldn't be scared after hearing the giant's plan. And our own plan, that was just begging for disaster to strike. Still it was the oath part that was making me worry about the prophecy. Not because it was still unclear what it meant, but because I was almost sure I knew exactly who it was meant for. And I didn't like it.

So I decided to walk around the borders of our latest camp in hopes of clearing my head. And the warning my father gave me on my first quest came back to me. It seemed so long ago but I remember him telling me about Percy's flaw, how he would sacrifice the world for his friends and it was my duty as a Roman and son of Emily Zhang to ensure he honored his duty not his personal needs. And just like that I realized that it would be almost impossible for Percy to willingly give up his friends even if it is to defeat Gaea. But Percy's my friend, I can't doubt him now, not when he's been such a crucial part in our forces these last few years. Oh man what can I do now? It almost seems like we're being set up for failure and success at the same time, mostly because Percy one of our go to guys is also the one most likely to mess this mission up!

"Frank hold up! Can I talk to you for a sec?" I recognized that voice, Jason. When did he manage to sneak up on me? Man I must be really worried if I didn't notice him approach me in this wide open field we're in.

"Sure whats up Jason? Listen I can't stay long though, its kind of been a rough day you know?" I told him as he started walking up to me.

"I'll make this quick then," he said as he flashed me a quick grin "so I'll get straight to the point. What's up with that look you gave Percy?"

Oh man, I had hoped no one saw that, of course he would though, but if anyone could understand why I did that then it'd be Jason. Because if Percy was a shoe in to come through in difficult situations then Jason was another definite in a tight spot. And what makes it better is that he's a Roman first, so he knows the importance of duty, of sacrifice, that sometimes the needs of the many need to outweigh whatever personal loyalty you had to the few. So I started to explain myself, or tried to at least.

"Well r-really its n-nothing" I stammered out, "but, I don't know if Percy will be able to finally put an end to this war. I'm not sure if he should face Gaea. I mean he said so himself, the prophecy isn't limited to any particular one of us. And it might be better if Percy isn't even there to face her."

"Why do you think this?" Jason asked me. A serious expression on his face, "if its because you doubt his ability to think straight after all that Gaea's put him through then I'm telling you now that that isn't an issue for him. Trust him. He won't let that get to him."

"Its not that. Really its not. Its just... well promise you won't get mad at this?" I asked hopefully.

"Sure as long as you fully explain yourself" he answered me.

"Two years ago, on our first quest, my father, Lord Mars, gave me a warning concerning Percy. Up till now I'd forgotten it could ever come to pass, but its about his fatal flaw. I can see you're starting to understand now. Yeah that's what I'm worried about. What if at the final battle it becomes necessary for the one to bring Gaea down to go down with her? I don't think Percy would be able to let us pay that price. He could potentially stop it all in order to save his friends. And I'm his friend and I trust him, but I can't just let him be selfish at the end and try to save us if it means letting Gaea be free." I quickly let out hoping he'd caught all my concerns and help me come up with a plan for Percy to leave it up to the three of us and not interfere.

"I'm impressed. No one else even picked up on what might possibly happen at that battle, that we might not all come back. And I understand Frank but you just have to trust that he'll do the right thing, I do." He told me.

"I do trust him" I quickly replied, "but we also have to look at the worst case scenario, prepare for the worst, its whats kept us going this long! How is this any different!" I was almost screaming at this point, hoping he'd understand what I meant.

"Frank" he said, as he put his arm around shoulder "Percy will do this, he will not fail. And if you don't trust him at this point, then we have to go see him and explain why you must."

"How will explaining something help me with something like this!" I exclaimed. Why wasn't he taking me seriously. Percy's fatal flaw isn't something he can overcome overnight, I know he isn't a naïve 12 year old anymore that thinks no one can possibly die ever, but still I know Percy. Every bone in his body would scream at him to do his best to save someone if they are ever in trouble.

Jason didn't even bat an eye as I pretty much yelled in his face and told him I still didn't believe him. In fact he seemed to be ignoring me completely as he started leading me away from the camp borders that we'd ended up in. But instead of heading back to our quarters, he started leading me to a more secluded place along the river that cut through our camp.

"What are you doing? I mean, we're not even headed to Percy anymore. Oh gods no! Please don't kill me! I swear I believe Percy, I trust him now. In fact if I ever get married he'll be my best man!" I started spluttering anything and everything to get out of this bad situation that I knew I'd set myself up for.

Jason started laughing though, "Hahaha haha, are you serious man? No I'm not gonna kill you. Calm down, you're just stressed. Keep quiet though and I'll show you why Percy will have no trouble completing the prophecy. And paying any price needed." And with that I quieted down and followed him to whatever it was he wanted to show me.

What I saw shocked and surprised me. Definitely, there was no way that what I was seeing was real. This must be some sort of illusion, yeah that's it. Maybe Jason had really tried to kill me and hit me so hard that I was hallucinating.

But before I could ask Jason any questions he lead me back to camp and to Percy. And once he had me in front of Percy I erupted with a million questions. And he just sat there calmly taking it all. And he explained in detail everything he was planning on doing but not before swearing me to secrecy on the River Styx. We didn't leave his room for hours.

And when I left I knew that Lord Mar's warning all those years ago were for nothing. Because if there ever was a Hero born that would defy all odds and continuously save the world while also saving his friends, then that Hero was none other than Percy Jackson. My commander, my friend, and after tonight my own personal Hero.

So with those thoughts I decided to head to bed and finally rest a little bit. Even though a part of me felt incredibly guilty after learning everything tonight and having to keep it secret, I also knew, just as Percy knew and Jason knew, that it was necessary, the lesser of two evils in order for the world to keep on going.

Nevertheless I couldn't stop the single tear that slid down my cheek after everything I learned tonight. And even if it was selfish, I couldn't help but be thankful Percy would do the right thing after all, and I wouldn't be forced into an unwanted situation. All that remained now was to train and talk to the gods and be as prepared as possible for what was to happen two weeks from. Oh well, I'd help in that tomorrow, today I'd had enough worries dumped on me, this was a problem for future Frank to think on not me.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** This story will be a Percy/Reyna fic. It just won't happen that they fall in love and get together all within one or even two chapters right away. I'm going to try and make it build up over a few of them. So bear with me and try not to lose patience if it takes longer than you expected.

**Hazel POV**

"Annabeth duck!" I yelled out as Thoas jabbed his spear in her direction nearly decapitating her in the process. It had all been going so well too. Our wonderful plan to quietly follow the giants and take out their guards and surprise attack them. Yeah right. That plan worked about as well as safety scissors do on taking down a stone wall.

What else did we expect though. This was the giants ultimate goal. Of course they'd be prepared. We might have taken down a few of their lookouts but 3 giants against 7 demi-gods a titan queen and 3 gods isn't a battle to be ended quickly or quietly. Especially since we had to defend Rhea and Percy as they said they needed time in order to set up our trump card. Making our already gargantuan task almost impossible.

Whatever, there was no point in arguing about it now. We had planned as best as we could for about a week before we had to set out early and make our way to old Rome. This way we would be able to get there quietly and before the giants showed up, so that hopefully we could ambush them.

"Hazel, you and Arion try and get behind him and attack him while trying to make him dodge right. That way even if he thinks I have bad aim initially what he'll actually be doing is running straight into a trap." Artemis quickly ordered me as she then decided to leap away and get into position for our latest plan. I mean seriously, I know she refused to team up with the boys of our side because she thinks them 'useless' and 'arrogant' but now I'm starting to think its because she only wanted to use Annabeth and I as expendable target dummies for all her moves against Thoas.

Even so, whenever we'd faced the giants in the past, we'd never had more to fight for than now. This was it, if the giants revived Gaea then we would lose the war. If we only delayed them, we'd probably still lose the war. Our forces were being cut down daily while hers were nearly endless. Even if Gaea and her forces that she'd sent to our camp succeeded and crippled our army we might still be able to pull a victory out of the jaws of defeat if we ended the war today.

Man had our back up plans been hard though. I know Percy and Jason agree with me on this though. It had been almost a quest all its own convincing our fathers to stay back and defend camp while we came out to old Rome and tried to claim a decisive victory over our enemies. My dad was furious and almost demanded we take the Furies with us, as if, those annoying bags of wind would only give us away.

Jason had a slightly easier time in convincing Lord Jupiter though. Only because he was technically a hero of Juno not Jupiter any longer. She had been the one to originally manipulate the Greek and Roman demi-gods into working together. Of course she'd support the latest plans of her favored hero, if only to save face in front of the Olympian Council. After telling us what she'd done to Lord Jupiter though, I nearly busted a gut laughing. Who knew the king of the gods was just as susceptible to an angry wife's demands to sleep on the couch as anyone else?

Percy on the other hand we had to nearly restrain from attacking his father. We knew that he was going to be mad at him of course, but I don't think even Jason knew how bad it could be.

After Lord Jupiter and my father accepted our plan I assumed Poseidon would too. That he would follow his brothers examples but he had instead prohibited Percy from going on this quest at all. Boy was that the wrong thing to say to Percy. I guess he must have been bottling up his feelings on his dad for a while because he just went off on him. Going on and on about how his father had pretty much been solely responsible for what happened to his step-dad and mom and other pent up issues he must have been harboring for years.

At the end of it all, Poseidon, looked crushed and completely torn down. He finally told Percy to do what he thought was best and that he'd join his brothers in defense of camp. The rest of the Olympian council voted to still send at least two of their own on this quest and it was decided it'd be Apollo and Artemis. One other god was also sent with us and that was Bellona, Reyna's mother, with the idea being that even though she was a minor goddess she was still powerful and surely to be severely underestimated by Gaea. We also explained to the council how the attack at camp would be staged a day before the attempted resurrection of Gaea in case the elder three gods were absent then the resurrection would be called off since they'd know we had caught onto their plans.

I quickly snapped out of my memories as Arion had gotten us into position to attack Thoas from behind. "Hey ugly! Give up already, you can't win. That's right. Stay focused on me." I kept to the plan of attacking Thoas and hopefully distracting him long enough for Artemis and Annabeth to spring the trap they'd been working on. We knew that even if we did manage to get the drop on him we couldn't kill him just yet.

Gaea was here now and helping her kids. We'd never be able to land the finishing blow so for now all we could do was either cripple him or capture him. Long enough for Gaea to be defeated which would then allow us to finally banish the giants to Tartarus for good.

"Annabeth now!" I heard Artemis call out, and after that all I saw was a wall of fire spring up and surround Thoas not allowing him any room to maneuver without seriously injuring himself.

"Puny demi-gods" Thoas sneered "This won't hold me for long, not even Hestia and Hephaestus can form a prison made of fire to hold me indefinitely. And when I get out, I'll crush you."

"Maybe, but we don't need to hold you forever, just long enough to defeat your leader." I said to him, and as I finished speaking I saw his eyes widen in fear. I'd heard rumors of Porphyrion rewarding failure with untold amounts of pain. I guess those rumors were true if the fear reflecting in Thoas' eyes was anything to go by.

After Thoas started screaming out death threats and promises to torture us all into insanity for millenia I tuned him out and headed over to Annabeth and Artemis to regroup and outline what we were to do next. We decided to try and help in defeating the other two giants, trusting (grudgingly so) Rhea to keep her end of the bargain and prepare for Gaea's defeat.

**Jason POV**

"Impossible" I let out between deep breaths. "Whats this guy made of? He definitely wasn't this strong all the other times we've fought." As I finished saying this I had to dodge another bolt of lightning that Porphyrion had just finished shooting at me.

"Keep focused child of Jupiter. They are obviously much stronger with Gaea around. We may not be able to put him down for good, but we should be able to hold out until our friends arrive with help." Bellona said to me.

Watching her fight by ducking and weaving in and out of Porhpyrions sword strikes effortlessly was mesmerizing. While she could easily grow into her giant size like any other god it seemed she preferred something in between mine and Franks height and Porphyrions height. The way she would attack while dodging at the same time was impressive. Seeing her display of skill made me remind myself to never piss off Reyna on the off chance her mother taught her a trick or two on fighting.

Essentially she was right though. Porhpyrion might be stronger than ever, but we only had to delay him and the other giants, not stop them. Especially if we wanted Percy and Rhea to complete setting up our trump card for this war.

Off in the distance I noticed Hazel, and her crew run over to help Piper and Leo overwhelm their opponent. Good, if things kept going like this we might be able to keep these guys busy long enough to spring our own counterattack. Should have known nothing is ever so easy.

"Fight on my children! The Doors of Death arise. We are almost at our goal. Slay those puny gods and their sire, unleash me onto this plane and let me get my revenge!" we all heard Gaea cry out these words. What happened next froze all of us in our tracks even the giants.

All of a sudden a large shadow grew out in the center of the Colosseum where we'd all been fighting. And from the shadow emerged two enormous gates made out of a dark and light absorbing metal. They appeared to be chained shut by enormous chains bigger and thicker than even the oldest of trees. Adorned by the bandaged head and torso of a skeleton on each door, to say the old gates of death were intimidating would be a major understatement.

"Enough of this foolishness!" Porhpyrion yelled out as he threw Frank in his rhino form off of him and straight into a wall. "I will destroy these doors and unleash our vengeance on the gods! None of you can stop me now, especially not some puny demi-gods." As he said this he unleashed a massive wave of power that pushed me straight into Bellona and tangled us up together.

It was ridiculous what this guy could do without even trying. "Lady Bellona, lend me your spear." I asked her as I quickly came up with a plan to slow Porphyrion down if only a little. It would be painful though. Very painful.

"Here you go child, what is your next move?" She asked me as she handed me her spear.

"Just catch me when I fall." I answered her cryptically.

Saying that, I rushed towards Porphyrion intent on catching up to him before he started swinging at the Doors of Death. With a mighty leap aided by air currents under my will I managed to land and stab him in between his shoulder blades. As he reached behind him to try and pull out my weapon, I summoned the biggest bolt of lightning I could, almost losing control of the power coursing through me as I was blasted free from the giant and into the waiting arms of Bellona.

The next words I heard were like the most beautiful symphony ever composed. They were more than music to my ears. Years of fighting and dreaming had me awaiting the next words to come from the mouth of my best friend. Well almost the next words.

"Nice one Jason, I knew Piper wore the pants in the relationship." Percy let out between his laughs. "Anyways, we are ready, today is the day we stop Gaea and doom the giants."

"Thank you for your help, grandma Rhea. We couldn't have done this without you. And rest assured, we will keep our promises." Percy said to Rhea as he turned towards her and was enveloped in a hug.

"Think nothing of it Perseus," At this Percy had a slight scowl on his face "I never liked my mother much, I am just sad about what has to happen." Hearing this I couldn't help but feel sadness envelope my heart as I remembered the price we had to pay to trap Gaea.

"What's going on here? Are you guys finished doing whatever you were gonna do?" Asked Leo as he ran over having finished dealing with Pallas along with Hazel, Annabeth, Piper, Artemis, and Apollo.

"Yeah we're done. I'm going to finish this war now. Just keep Porphyrion entertained for a few more seconds." Percy told us as he pulled out a dagger, a golden apple, and some pomegranate seeds from the bag he was carrying.

He then proceeded to cut the apple in half, then squeeze the juice of the pomegranate seeds onto it and watched as it disappeared into one half of the apple. Having done that, he sliced open a finger of his and dribbled a few drops of blood onto the other half.

"Nooooo! I recognize this ritual! You will not lock me away again, hurry my sons, stop them before its too late!" Gaea yelled out these words as we finally saw her rise up from the ground in front of the giant doors.

Luckily all of the giants were either captured like Thoas, in the process of recovering from disintegration like Pallas or out cold like Porphyrion. For now at least.

"Percy, what now? I mean almost the entire prophecy is clear now save for the oath and storm or fire parts. We're all here now. Which one of us has to take the next step?" Asked a worried Leo.

Hearing this I immediately jumped on top of him and wrestled him to the ground and then yelled out "Now Frank! Before they try and stop him!" Frank immediately transformed into a chinese dragon and wrapped himself around Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth ignoring their indignant exclamations. This was Percy's cue to explain our actions and finish our preparations.

"Sorry guys, but we lied to you, there was a fourth person to the prophecy involving storms. It's me, son of the storm bringer. And the oath that must be kept is the same one I swore on my blood all those months ago as I held Connors dieing body in my arms. I swore that each and every one of you would live through this war no matter the cost to myself."

At these words a new god flashed in and stood in front of Percy. A god I only dimly recognized as Dius Fidius Roman god of oaths.

"Are you ready and confident in your actions Perseus Jackson. You know the consequences to such an oath at this moment in time." Dius Fidius asked Percy.

"Yes, I swore I'd pay any price for their protection" he gestured to his friends. "Now is when I can complete my oath, any later and I may no longer be able to keep it."

"What is the meaning of this. Explain yourself Perseus or I will be forced to believe you are aiding Gaea and believe me I will put a stop to that here and now if that is the case." Artemis yelled out at him. Rather than explain himself though, Percy stomped his foot into the ground and activated whatever it was he and Rhea had been preparing all this time.

A bright flash of light later and we saw Percy standing perfectly calm behind a glass like wall as he started to explain his actions finally.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding Lady Artemis, Lord Apollo. But I had to ensure you wouldn't try and stop this next part. Lady Rhea did show us how to stop Gaea, but the price is a high one. Not the one she herself asked, but the price one must pay in order to lock Gaea away again like was done by the titans before their reign. As I am not immortal I had to gather a few extra ingredients. First, the golden apple from the garden of the Hesperides. Next the food of the underworld planted by Lady Persephone of which none can eat save the dead. And finally the blood of a relative directly descended from her line." Percy explained in a serious tone of voice.

"Percy, I know stealing the apples is wrong and same with the pomegranates but why would you think we'd stop you for that? This is war. I'm sure uncle Hades and Hera would've understood your need." Apollo asked as the wall didn't come down after neither he or Artemis made a move to apprehend Percy after his explanation.

"That's true Apollo, but that's not what I meant when I said you'd stop me." Percy replied back.

"Then what are you talking about Percy. Please tell us, we have to stop Gaea now before its too late. Its now or never, let us go so we can help." Piper begged Percy next.

"Sorry Piper, but I definitely can't let you go." Percy then proceeded to bite into both halves of the apple, and after he swallowed a light glow started to surround him. "Because you see, in order for this to work, I have to eat these ingredients, and then I must sacrifice my immortal soul to lock away Gaea and erase all memories she's had over the millenia."

Having said this, all the assembled gods and demi-gods gasped save myself and Frank who both knew the truth of Percy's preparations. And I'm sure if Frank were able to cry in his form he would be as I myself felt tears start to leak from my eyes as I knew that I'd be saying goodbye to my friend for good pretty soon.

"Perseus be reasonable, there must be another way. Although it is noble to sacrifice yourself for the safety of your friends you must think of the prophecy. Surely this isn't what it meant. There must be seven of you at the end of all this! Perseus, let us through so we can finally put a stop to Gaea." Bellona shouted at him, hoping to get Percy to see reason.

"I'm sorry Lady Bellona, but this is truly the only way, or else Dius Fidius wouldn't be here." As Percy turned to Dius Fidius he then continued "The preparations are complete on our end Dius. Rhea and I made sure that the final step would only be for you to call in my oath to be paid. As the apples, the blood, and the food of the underworld would all connect myself, my soul, and Gaea's power to the ritual and enable us to put her to sleep."

"Very well Perseus. Do you have any last words before you imprison Gaea? I doubt you'll feel very chatty afterwards." Dius commented in a dry tone of voice.

Percy chuckled a bit at that and said "No, I have that covered, thanks. Now then, I'll be off."

Ignoring the cries and pleas to wait from his friends Percy started walking to Gaea, the walk turned into a light jog, which melded into a run, and finally smoothed over into a flat out sprint before he leapt at a raging Gaea and let loose a war howl. A bright flash filled the Colosseum as soon as they connected and blinded everyone trying to escape our grips and the gods trying to breach the clear wall. Following the light a massive shock wave blasted everyone off their feet and shattered the invisible wall.

"I consider your oath fulfilled young hero. May your actions go down in history and your feats remembered and honored for all time." Dius Fidius spoke these last words in a sad tone of voice filled with regret it seemed. Regretting to claim the oath in such a manner probably. But I didn't care, as I lost my good friend. I didn't care about his words as the bright flash of light still blinded me and all I could see was white before I passed out.

I started to come to, blinking repeatedly to adjust to the bright light I could see. I looked around and saw myself in an all white land as far as the eye could see. And as the ringing in my ears started to wind down I started hearing something else.

"What in Tartarus? Did I die too? How can I hear Percy?" I asked to no one in particular. Before I noticed I was alone and none of my friends were near me anymore.

"Finally noticed your alone huh sparky?" Percy asked me with an amused tone of voice.

"What do you mean? What happened? Where's Gaea, we didn't fail did we?" I asked frantically.

"Oh ye of little faith" scoffed Percy in an amused tone of voice "Don't worry Tony Montana, this is all part of the plan. I knew I wouldn't have enough time to properly say goodbye to anyone so I built this extra moment in time into the ritual. Yeah I figured I would either be running around avoiding giants while activating this thing, or avoiding all the girls trying to pummel me before I could activate the ritual. Either way I'd be in a lot of pain and couldn't say goodbye so I had this built in so I could have a few last words."

"Haha, yeah Hazel and Piper would definitely find a way to kick your butt even after you died locking away Gaea for all that you just put them through. At least this way they can get this out of their system and into physical pain for you." I choked out between my very manly giggles at those images.

"Yeah don't even remind me. I've got them next. Still, my time here isn't indefinite. So before I go is there anything you want to say. I've got my speech for you planned out already" He inquired with a smile on his face.

"Yeah just one thing." I walked over to him, and slugged him as hard as I could in the stomach. As he was falling over though I caught him with my arm and said "That's for never finding a different way to end this."

I then proceeded to grab his wrist and haul him to his feet in the traditional Roman handshake of one armored warrior to another, from one commander to his equal. From a friend to a friend. "And this is for saving the world. Rest assured Percy, I won't back out of my word. She will be protected, no harm will come to her as long as I can help it. No boys either for that matter."

"Ha protective much" he wheezed out between trying to catch his breath. "And thank you. You have no idea what this means to me. If there ever was a way for me to re-"

"Shut it." I cut him off with a slight edge to my voice. "You of all people don't need to repay anything to anyone. If anyone here owes a debt its me to you."

"I suppose. But anyways, thanks Jason, you were always the cooler head of the two of us. Thank you for that. And here, give this to her when she's ready. Its belonged to heroes since its creation by my friend Zoe. I think its time for it to return to a heroin. And if you can, ask Reyna to help her in this. Tell her its my last wish." Percy then reached into his pocket and pulled out his trusty pen and sword Anaklusmos or Riptide. After looking at it sadly for a few seconds he closed his hand into a fist and closed his eyes in concentration. After he opened his fist I noticed the pen had morphed into a hair clip.

"I'll hold it till she's ready, I suppose this is goodbye then?" I asked a little sadly.

"Yeah, I suppose it is. You're a hero Jason, you didn't fail, you are the closest thing I have to a brother after the loss of Tyson. Just remember what I ask of you and I hope you find and live a long and happy life with Piper. Say goodbye to grandma Rhea for me. Goodbye my friend." He replied as he slowly started fading away, tears and a sad expression on his face.

"Goodbye, my brother, you will never be forgotten." I let out in a near whisper as he disappeared. And so I glimpsed for the last time the face of my best friend before his image faded away.

**Frank POV**

"Frank... up... Frank... -ake up."

"Whaa? Five more minutes Hazel I swear I'll be up in five minutes." I let out as I heard someone trying to wake me up.

"Centurion Zhang! This is your praetor speaking. Up and at 'em. You have thirty seconds before you are to report for duty!" the voice yelled out at me. It had to be Reyna oh man I was in for it now. No one else would yell at me like that. Damn I'd probably have to pull extra duties again.

"Ah I'm sorry Reyna I'm up! Just let me put some pants on" I let out as I scramble to my feet and heard someone trying to hold in their laughter. As I looked over I saw the last person I expected in the world. "Percy? What? You jerk I thought that was Reyna!"

"Sorry, sorry Frank. Couldn't help myself. Now to make a long story short. Yes Gaea is gone, yes I'm gonna follow her soon. This place is just something I built in to say my goodbyes to my friends before I go. Is there anything you wanna say to me? I have a few last words for one of the greatest Roman heroes I know." Percy explained to me with a smile on his face. A smile I wanted to punch off for scaring me so much.

"I have a lot I wanna say you jerk! But for now, I just want to say thank you for proving the gods wrong time and again. And no matter what I'll never forget you and I'll honor you in every way I can for the rest of my life."

"You already do my friend. Just be yourself. Take care of Hazel, be happy and when you get back to the real world remember that you need to stay away from dairy.." Percy chuckled after saying this last bit.

"Man I almost forgot about that. What a painful reminder I'd have if I decided to stop for ice cream." I then reached out and grasped his wrist with my hand and smiled as he returned my Roman handshake.

"Goodbye my friend. When you get back kick Octavian in the nads for me. Or better yet get Rachel to do it. It should be hilarious. There's a mission I'm having Jason do for me in a few years. If you want to help ask him if you can go along. It would mean a lot to me. It was an honor serving with you Centurion Zhang. You do your ancestors proud." Having said his peace Percy started to fade away, but I never released his hand as I knew this was goodbye for good for my first male friend at Camp Jupiter and the hero that inspired me to be a man of my own in this war.

**Hazel POV**

"Ah, my head. Stupid Percy, could have warned us to bring sun glasses or something." I grumbled out tiredly as I sat up and had a look around.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I decide to flash everyone" a very familiar voice let out.

"What? Who's there. Is that you Percy. It is! Percy!" I then proceeded to get up and hug Percy as hard as I could after everything all came rushing back to me. Being a daughter of Pluto though, I knew what was going to happen. Even if I didn't know how he did it, I knew Percy was only saying goodbye, not here to tell me he was ok.

"I'm surprised you didn't try and pound me into the ground Hazel instead of hugging me. Ow! Guess I spoke to soon."

"You jerk. Don't say things like that right now. I know what this is Percy. Don't forget who my father is. And so I want to say, thanks, and also you're an idiot for not doing this another way. Oh and one last thing. I'll miss you. You are one of my closest friends but I know you wouldn't want me to be mopey about all this. Arion will miss you too even if he won't ever admit it. But for now. Just accept this hug jerk. It's the last one I'll get to give to my favorite cousin. Even if he is a bit of a pervert." I let out all in a rush before I jumped out and gave him a big hug again.

"Thanks Hazel, you have no idea how much this means to me. In a few years. If you want, ask Jason about one last request I made of him. If he needs the help you can go along with him. In the mean time though. Know this, when I was at my lowest it was always your words that helped the most to comfort me. I'll miss you Hazel Levessque. Live a long and happy life with Frank. And I'm sorry for deceiving all of you but thank you for being with me until the bitter end. Goodbye." Those last words said in a near whisper.

The entire time Hazel was holding onto him she was crying. Crying for the loss of one of her greatest friends and the loss of one of Earth's greatest heroes. Crying because this was the last time she was sure she'd see Percy ever again. And as her arms collapsed into themselves after Percy fully faded away Hazel couldn't help but break down and cry even more herself.

**Piper POV**

"Wonder where I am. I mean I just woke up and its all white. Hope we didn't lose this thing." I mumbled out as I sat up and took note of the all white dimension I appeared to be in.

"Hey Piper. Sorry to keep you waiting but I'm going along saying goodbye to everyone one by one. So here I am. Do your worst. Just please, not the face!" Percy said as he appeared in front of me and held his hands up to his face in a joking manner.

"Oh Percy. Stop, I may not be like most daughters of Aphrodite but I'm also not a daughter of Ares. Now come over here and let me give you a hug. You said this is goodbye right? Don't look so surprised. This might have been a war and we might have all been warriors but now I'm saying farewell to a dear friend, and my leader."

Having said my peace I walked over to Percy and gave him a final hug. And as I pulled away I couldn't help but feel sad that the great destiny and future he could have had all had to end today. I may not be a oracle but I can sense possibilities better than most other demi-gods. And all of Percy's started going up in smoke a few weeks ago, I feared I knew why but I didn't want to bring it up now. No, he deserved to be seen off with a smile, especially after all he'd been through, so now wasn't a good time to bring that up.

"Thanks Piper, Jason is a lucky man." Percy asserted voice full of mirth as he noticed the blush on my cheeks. "I already knew a great hero from the cabin of Aphrodite, its even greater that this one will live a long and happy life with my best friend. Whoever speaks bad about you guys just point them in my direction and I'll take care of it." He laughed.

"Goodbye Percy, and thank you for all the advice, and shoulder to cry on over the years. I just wish I could have helped you as much as you did me." I let out a little sadly.

"You do more than enough of that by making Jason and everyone around you happy Piper. Its a rare and special person that can make those around them as happy as they are. Never lose that in yourself Piper. And I'm sure in a few years Jason will try and go on a last mission for me. If you can, help him out with that. He tends to listen to you more than me so I'd appreciate any good ideas you have for him. Live a long and happy life together ok guys? Well anyways. Goodbye Piper. And don't be so sad. You are one of the greatest heroes I've ever known. See ya." As Percy faded away with one last wave of his hand I couldn't help but feel proud of what he said to me. Even at the end of the line, Percy Jackson was an inspiration to all those who fought by his side. And I would make sure to follow his last wishes, all that was left was for me to have a talk with Jason.

**Leo POV**

"This is so boring! What am I doing here waiting all alone and with nothing to do. Man if I had some crayon's I'd totally start doodling all over this place just to liven it up a little."

"Now now Leo, no need for that. After all the work I put into bringing you here? Some people just have no appreciation for hard work." Percy shook his head sadly after saying all that.

"What's up Percy! Man I knew you wouldn't let us all down. Gaea and the gian-"

"Hold on Leo, sorry didn't mean to cut you off but I just wanted to say that no I didn't survive, this is more of a staging ground that lets me say goodbye to all of my friends. In case you didn't notice all the angry girls and gods after I explained what I had to do, I felt I should at least give you guys a chance to pound into me one at a time for what I did."

"Really? Bummer. That's not to say I don't appreciate what you did for us man. It just sucks that this is the price to be paid. Is there anything I can do for you. Anything at all after what just happened." I asked him, trying to in some way honor his memory at least.

"Well there is one thing. If when the time comes, and Jason will know, you could build something for a girl that is very special to me. I'd really appreciate that. And honestly I feel like I would forever be in your debt." He pretty much begged me. Which made what I was about to say to him even worse.

"Percy if this is about who I think it is. I can't do it man. Not for her. Not after what she's done, and I'm sorry for bringing it up here and not sooner but I didn't know this is what you'd end up doing. Ask me anything else but that." I addressed him somberly.

"No its not for who you're thinking of Leo, I already know about that. Don't worry I wouldn't ask you to do that. And thank you for refusing because of what she's done. You honor me more than you know with that. Its for someone younger. They'll be more along the lines of toys than weapons for her anyways. But enough about that. I wanted to also say thanks. For sticking with me for so long and after all I've been through. Your are another one of a long line of incredible heroes from Hephaestus cabin. Say goodbye to Nyssa for me." Percy then started to wave cheerfully at me as he started to fade away.

"See ya Percy. Don't worry then I'll definitely ask Jason about this project. I'll even be sure to make a giant statue of you in front of Poseidon cabin. Ha don't make that face buddy, it's the least I can do. And thank you. For everything you've done. Goodbye commander, goodbye my friend." I cheerlessly waved back at him as he disappeared for good. One of, if not the greatest hero of the second giant-olympian war.

**Annabeth POV**

"Percy!" I shouted as I started running towards him before I skidded to a stop right in front of him holding his hand out in front of him.

"No Annabeth don't. It's too painful. I know Annabeth. I know. And this is a goodbye anyways. I didn't walk away from Gaea unscathed. I took her down with me. I just wanted to let you know that no matter our history. I do wish the best for you. Live a long and happy life Annabeth. Take care of yourself. Goodbye" having said what he needed Percy disappeared in a brilliant flash of light and as he disappeared so too did the pure white space we were in.

I could barely hold myself together. He was gone. Really gone. No matter what, he wouldn't be there for me at the end of the day. Seaweed brain had done what all heroes are supposed to do. He'd saved the world. But still he was gone and he said he knew. That he knew. Oh gods. What happens now. I had no plans for this. I wish Percy was still here, even if he wasn't the smartest he was always around to help with any and all of my problems.

As the space faded I looked around and noticed we were back at the Colosseum before Percy jumped at Gaea except that now the doors of death were missing too. I looked over and saw Jason standing motionlessly with tears running down his face. Piper with a sad face started to head over to him and hugged him hoping to comfort him. Frank with his arm out and a few tears leaking down his cheeks. Hazel openly crying as she sat on the ground. Leo noticed this and decided to maneuver Frank and Hazel together so all three could comfort each other. They'd grown close those three, during this war, closer than any save Percy and Jason.

And looking around at the confused faces of the remaining gods I couldn't help but miss Percy even more and wish he was here so I wouldn't feel so alone. So we could celebrate surviving another war together. But all that was left of him was his light green sweatshirt that he was wearing before running at Gaea. So I walked over and grabbed it and started to cry myself as his absence finally hit me like a ton of bricks. Seaweed brain was gone. And I had no plan or idea to get him back to me.

This was the scene that the Argo II full of our strongest demi-gods and the rest of the Olympian council came down too. As they looked around and noticed we were alive Apollo, Artemis and Bellona explained what had happened here before our reinforcements arrived.

Slowly and at a sedate pace they started to round up the remaining giants for imprisonment to Tarturus. But it didn't matter that war was over as everyone there felt the loss of Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, Praetor of the twelfth Legion Fulminata. Hero of Heroes. The one who granted us victory in this war, and the one person who wasn't around to celebrate it.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The works of the great and powerful Riordan are solely his property and I am merely lucky enough to be allowed to dabble in his works.

"Normal speech"

'_Inner speech/thoughts'_

**Jason POV**

As I watched my father and uncles along with the rest of the council tie up the three remaining giants to transport them to Tartarus I couldn't help but wonder what would happen now. Sure there would be awards, a big speech, and celebrations over victory but it all seemed so empty. So pointless.

Then and there I made up my mind that if I were to be offered something that I didn't believe was necessary as a reward that I would instead ask the gods to grant me a request. Sort of an homage to what Percy had done himself after the Titan war on Olympus. And lets not forget the promise we both made to our grandmother, Queen Rhea of the titans.

I listlessly watched an emotionally deprived Leo round everyone up after the clean up was over and herd them over to the Argo II. His pride and joy if I recall. Leo got behind the wheel and seemed to converse with my father for a few seconds while I just looked out over the railing and a destination was set it seemed. Leo punched a few numbers and probably our destination into the machines and the Argo took off. Probably towards Olympus.

While everyone else took care of the general running of the ship, as it looked like it had been through a battle all its own, I took off towards my cabin in order to lock myself in and think. I needed to go over what I would end up telling the council about the ritual used to imprison Gaea. What its price was, the reason we needed those ingredients, and what would happen now that the war was basically over.

As soon as I walked in though, I noticed how soft and comfortable my bed looked right now. So I figured I might as well take a bit of a nap since it would be at least a few days before we were back in New York and I deserved a bit of rest. Yeah I'd just lie down and close my eyes for a few hours. Just a quick nap really. Before I did that though I made sure to set an alarm so I could wake up and not sleep all through the flight.

All of a sudden a series of impatient knocks came from my door. Confused as to who it was I cautiously approached it. I swear if it was anyone that came only to ask me how the fight went and how I was I'd take out all my frustration on them with my sword.

To my surprise though, it was the rest of my friends from the prophecy minus Annabeth.

"Hey guys what are you doing here? I was about to take a quick nap since I'm sure we won't be back in New York for at least a day or two and then I was going to try and relax before we reached Olympus." I told them hoping and implying that I wanted to be left alone for now, to just deal with everything that had happened recently. Surely my friends would grant me that right?

"Sorry Jason, but we actually aren't heading to NY, we're going to Thessaly or more accurately to ancient Olympus. Its more fitting for our rewards or something, that's what your dad said anyways. So we should actually be there in about 4-5 hours since the Argo II is so fast. Don't worry though we told everyone else not to bother us until after we arrive, we, meaning the rest of us not invited in yet" at this I couldn't help but grin sheepishly and step out of Leo's way so they could walk inside.

"- and we were also hoping to talk to you about something Percy said to us. I thought that maybe he only needed something from me as a last minute favor before his goodbye but on my way here I ran into these guys and they said they were headed over here for the same reason I was. Care to explain oh glorious and obviously stressed out leader? Look we wouldn't ask if we didn't think it was important to Percy, something about a last request he asked of you. If there's any way to complete his last wishes, I, er I mean we want in." Leo added in that last part after the rest of our friends decided to glare at him simultaneously.

"What Leo means Jason, is that Percy asked us if we wanted to help you. We do. All of us. Whatever this mission is it must have been important to him so that means its important to us. Don't leave us out of this Jason. He was our friend too. We'll all miss him, and helping you do this might also help make it easier to honor his memory." Piper proceeded to walk over and wrap her arms around me as she was trying to drive the point home that I wasn't alone in this. Not anymore. And I was thankful.

So after closing the door and lamenting the fact that I wouldn't be getting in any sleep before we reached Mt. Olympus, I began to explain the final request that Percy had asked of me.

None of us however, missed the fact that yes Percy asked them at the last minute to help, but he hadn't asked Annabeth to help it seemed. Either he hadn't asked or she didn't want to help just yet. No matter, we'd deal with that when we came to it.

* * *

RotF

* * *

As we stopped at the foot of the sky bridge to ancestral Olympus, I couldn't help but gaze in awe at what lay before us. Sure I'd been to Mt Olympus in New York, but no offense to Annabeth, you just can't beat the classics. Even though it looked a little worn and ragged around the edges, you couldn't help but feel impressed at the majesty and design of every building, temple, and facet of this floating kingdom.

We remaining of the seven were about to dutifully trek into the throne room and await the council when all of a sudden Poseidon of all gods shouted out an order.

"Honor guard! All hail the heroes of Olympus, saviors of Rome, and the ones brave enough to do what is right even when told to take the easy way out."

At this Poseidon received several glares from Hera, my father in his Roman form Jupiter, Bacchus, and Athena. While also receiving amused looks from Artemis, Apollo, Pluto, Hestia and Ares. All of which he casually ignored and preceded us into the throne room.

Our captains and the remainder of the army which we'd had stationed at camp to await the giant attack all marched down from the ship and made two lines from the end of the sky bridge to the doors of the throne room. Every one of them came to attention and I heard Gwen raise her arm in a Roman salute and shout out.

"Ave Jason Grace! Ave Hazel Levesque! Ave Piper McClean! Ave Leo Valdez! Ave Frank Zhang! Ave Annabeth Chase!"

At this proclamation we all were astounded to hear each and every demi-god start chanting 'Ave! Ave!'

It seemed we had truly united Greek and Roman under one banner after centuries of fighting. It also seemed like Gwen had this planned out before hand since Reyna picked up where she left off. Almost immediately after the noise died down Reyna also lifted her arm skywards and had one more thing to add.

"And all hail Perseus Jackson! Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, Head Councilor of Poseidon Cabin, he is gone but NOT forgotten. AVE AVE AVE!"

If we thought that walking through the honor guard while our names were being chanted was inspiring, that was nothing compared to the sheer pride we felt for our friend Percy after hearing his name. The pride that we knew and fought alongside him, just like everyone else here. All of us, Greek and Roman, had suspiciously watery eyes after we reached the doors to the throne room.

This particular throne room was far bigger than the one in New York, and easily dwarfed the senate building in New Rome. Consequently, this allowed the remainder of our army to enter the throne room and line up along the back wall after we entered and stood in front of the council.

From the looks of it Hazel and Annabeth could barely keep themselves together after coming to a stop. Frank decided to move in to support Hazel, with Piper moving next to me for the same reason as I had a pained expression on my face.

As we entered we all lined up shoulder to shoulder and bent to one knee in front of Jupiter's throne. Jupiter cleared his throat and began what I knew was going to be the first of many questions about our battle.

"Rise heroes. Before we begin to grant you your well deserved rewards for winning this war, we of the council would like to ask a few questions. Namely, how did you actually defeat Gaea? Apollo and Artemis, both explained that Percy sacrificed himself to end the war but couldn't reveal the method as they were busy fighting the giants." Jupiter's request caught no one by surprise as I had explained to the others about what answer I would have to give.

"The answer is simple father although a bit boring. We enlisted the help of Rhea, as we explained to you already." Several of the Olympian council nodded at this reminder. "She told us of a certain ritual that involved self sacrifice to seal away an immortal of Gaea's caliber. She also mentioned the high price one had to pay in order to enact the ritual. From there we had to make a deal with her to obtain this ritual and her aid in the fight."

"What ritual do you speak of Jason? And is this something dangerous in her possession?" asked Athena. Of course I knew what she really wanted to know. If this ritual could imprison Gaea, then how much of a threat was it for the rest of the Olympian gods? Especially if the titans ever made a play for their thrones again like had been done a few short years ago.

"It is a forbidden ritual Lady Athena. Not even Kronos would dare or could force someone to obtain and perform it against their will when opposing his enemies. We were told that the requirements and the conditions for this ritual are more stringent than even the task set upon Atlas. Where Atlas must have his burden taken by free will, this ritual must also have the one enacting it be directly related to the intended victim. Not only that, but who so ever enacts this ritual must also willingly give up their immortal soul knowing all consequences of such actions." Hearing this particular tid bit Pluto's head shot up and caught my attention.

"So its true then? He gave up his immortal soul? Is this the reason I haven't felt him enter my domain hero?" He asked me with an unusually grave tone of voice.

Now everyone's attention was focused on me, every god and demi-god seemed slightly confused and were waiting in anticipation for Pluto to elaborate his cryptic remarks.

"Yes Lord Pluto. By his own actions, Percy's very being will cage Gaea until such a time that it fades away completely. He... he will never reach the underworld and be judged for his accomplishments. His soul is forfeit to imprison the enemy we've been fighting for the last two years." I choked out. Reminding myself and explaining the true extent of his sacrifice only served to darken my mood.

Hermes decided to get the conversation back on track after the sudden drop in the room's atmosphere. "What price did you agree to? It was never elaborated on to the council when you first came to us two weeks ago. We were only assured that it would cost us no more than the allowances we had to make after the titan war."

"Indeed, Rhea only requested that she be allowed the liberty to visit her remaining family without the threat of harm from the Olympian gods. If you recall, she did not choose sides during the last war. She wishes only to visit, for example, her favored niece Calypso without the risk of violence from a simple get together. Percy before he died promised this payment. If you wish to honor his achievements, than honor this request in his memory. If the task is too big a reward for just one hero then I ask that you make this my reward as well." I stated with my back straight and a confident look on my face looking for and meeting the eyes of each and every Olympian on the council, Pluto and Hestia included.

"Mine as well." Piper declared to my right.

"And mine" This time it was Hazel from my left.

"Anything to pay for the help we received." Both Annabeth and Leo seemed to agree with Frank's claim.

All of my friends had decided to speak up and let their feelings be known about this request. Just one more way to pay tribute to a comrade's memory.

The Olympian council all looked at each other and slowly started to agree with what we had said.

"Indeed. This is a small request for such an enormous act of aid in this war. Rhea will have free reign in visiting the free titans." This time it was Queen Hera who spoke up as the voice of the council.

"Now then. On to our next order of business." Poseidon began with a careful glance at Jupiter. Perhaps remembering the last time a meeting of this kind had taken place.

"I fear I already know your answer young heroes, but yet we still must ask. Will you accept the greatest gift we can bestow for accomplishing what few have ever dared? Will you six heroes accept the gift of immortality, of the elevation to serving as your godly parents lieutenants, of godhood? " He thundered.

"No." Five voices cried out simultaneously, receiving knowing looks from the majority of the council.

"Yes." A single voice retorted in opposition to the rest of us and drawing shocked looks from the majority of the onlookers in the throne room.

Hearing her say yes, after everything we'd been through, I wanted to immediately speak out and try to convince everyone that she was undeserving of such a gift. I held my tongue though. In part because of a promise I made, but mostly because no matter what had happened in our personal lives, Annabeth Chase had been an exemplary warrior, leader, and role model all throughout the war.

On the other hand, Leo didn't seem to share my self control. "What! How can you say yes. Are you kidding me. So you're just gonna turn your back on him?! After ever-"

"Leo that's enough" Frank bellowed as he cut in before Leo would start what was sure to be a long tirade of questions and probably insults. Honestly I was surprised it'd been Leo to speak up. He must know something that me and Frank don't, or he's just more upset than we thought.

"Quiet son, I'm sure there is an interesting story to your outburst. For now though, we have to get through the five of you. Afterwords we in the council will seek answers and find merit in your claims. And Athena, hold your tongue for now. I'm sure you believe your daughter is being targeted for trivial matters, so let them all calm down for a bit and then we can get to the bottom of this at the end. After all, there must be some reason why five heroes all turned down godhood and only one accepted." Hephaestus grumbled out quickly stopping Athena in her tracks before she blasted Leo into oblivion.

She grudgingly accepted his logical argument and sat back down, she then decided to stay quiet while the council dealt with the five of us first.

"Yes well now that that is handled for the moment, Jason come forth. Is there anything you want of us, now that we have paid Rhea's price and you have turned down our offer?" Jupiter demanded once he reclaimed all of our attention.

"I have but a small request. One for Lady Artemis actually." At this her eyebrow lifted in surprise. "I was wondering, Percy told me of your actions following the death of former lieutenant Zoe Nightshade a few years ago. My request is, in order for Percy to be remembered in some way, to add him as a constellation to the skies much like Hercules was added even though he hasn't truly gone to the underworld either." After I finished my request I waited for her answer. I knew Artemis didn't exactly hate Percy, but even so, adding him to the skies was something she might not do.

"I am sorry Jason" she sighed sadly "but with Zoe and with Hercules, even though he is not dead, at least his existence was not sacrificed for the purpose of imprisonment."

She decided to meet all of our gazes at this next bit as we all looked dismayed that she couldn't do it. "Believe me young heroes, if any man deserves a place among the stars accompanying my huntress, it is Perseus. However, this request is beyond the power of us in the council as we have nothing to put in the stars to hold his image." A high compliment coming from Artemis.

"An alternative then my champion. Since we cannot grant your request, the only thing that comes to mind that can possibly aid you is this. We will grant you the ability to extinguish your demi-god scent. This allows you to walk amongst mortals without putting them in danger, and considering how strong your scent must be now I believe it is a fair trade. It does however have its limits, ones you must train for and find out for yourself." Hera offered clearly hoping I would take this so we could move on to the next person.

"Thank you. I graciously accept this gift from you." I said as I stepped back into line with my friends.

Ares then proceeded to flicker for a few seconds before his image finally settled down and Mars appeared in his throne.

"My son come forth. Listen to this offer before you make a request of us though. When you were born, you already had the powers of your ancestor and then my own were added to that. As a result your very life was tied into the well-being of a stick because you were deemed too powerful and no power is had without a price. My offer is this then, we of the council can separate your fate from that of the stick, however, you will give up forever more the chance to gain my blessing during battle as your sister Clarisse has wielded several times during this war. Think carefully on this Frank. The council can still grant you a request if you wish but that is our best offer. What say you."

Hearing this I was floored. We all now knew of Frank's interwoven fate with that stick. This offer was indeed a great one. If Frank deserved any gift from the gods, this was certainly one of the best he could get.

Frank looked over at Hazel who seemed to be holding her breath and had her hands covering her mouth in shocked silence. He then answered Lord Mars "Of course I accept this father. And thank you, all of you for this." He then proceeded to walk towards Mars who then put his hand on his head. A red aura surrounded him before a thin line shot from Frank to Hazel's pocket. Before our eyes the line then severed and the aura surrounding Frank died down. We all knew what it meant as soon as Frank ran over to Hazel and lifted her up into a hug.

A round of applause started by none other than Aphrodite followed this touching moment. Frank then decided to throw caution to the wind and ask for something anyway.

"I know you don't have to grant me this request, but Percy was our friend and I met him as a Roman, and would now like to ask for him to be buried as a Roman. All funeral rites included. So I ask this, Lord Pluto, we may not be able to add his ashes to the crypt in New Rome but will you do the honors of completing his funeral rites for us?"

"Only if we all are allowed to attend. And I have some of his belongings that we can burn in order to follow tradition." Poseidon interrupted while Pluto could only smile sadly and nod his head in acceptance of Frank's offer.

Pluto then motioned for Hazel to step forward and receive her reward. She proceeded to let go of Frank, bowed in front of my father then took a knee in front of Lord Pluto.

"Hazel. Much like Mars did for Frank. I will offer you something as well before you make a request. I can either lift the curse placed upon all precious stones and metals you have control over and are attracted to you. Or I can grant you the ability to shadow travel much like your brother Nico does. It is your choice my daughter."

"I no longer think of my control over the earth's riches as a curse father. In addition I think I would be far too tempted to just summon as much as possible and retire before my sixteenth birthday. I don't want to fall into the same vices King Midas did though, so if it's alright with you, I would like the ability to shadow travel." Hazel responded to her fathers offer. She then hastened to her father's throne where he also placed his hand on top of her head and was similarly shrouded in an aura of power, this time dark purple almost black.

Before she got back into line with the rest of us though Hazel asked Pluto to build a memorial in honor of all those lost in the Giant-Olympian war after attending to Percy's funeral rites. A request Pluto and Hephaestus it seemed were all too happy to comply with.

"Ladies first" Leo jokingly commented as Aphrodite motioned for her favored daughter to step towards her.

"Is there anything I can grant you Piper dear? I see your friends all had requests that in some way related to Percy. Do you have something similar?"

"Yes. I would ask if its at all possible to teach both camps a detailed history of its heroes. Percy often mentioned how the legends of Hercules weren't entirely accurate. He also commented on how when he met Achilles he was very different from how the stories portrayed him. I don't want that to happen to our friends legacy. So please, I ask this of all of you. Give a detailed account of Percy and all his exploits as an example for all heroes to follow for generations to come." Piper spoke out passionately about this. To her, the last thing she wanted was for Percy to be forgotten, especially after all he'd done for us.

The Olympian council shared uneasy looks. Not because they didn't want to honor Percy, but because this request meant they'd have to share the good and the bad. Of all the heroes. So any children they had would be vilified for their mistakes as well as praised for their deeds. Eventually though Athena reluctantly spoke up for the first time.

"Your words are wise child. However, this isn't something we can grant overnight. We will immediately set plans into motion to bring the necessary history lessons to both camps so Percy and all other heroes won't be forgotten, but it will take some time to accomplish this satisfactorily."

At these words Piper could only hesitantly nod her head as she had no choice but to accept their promises. Seeing her daughter in such a state Aphrodite leaned over and whispered something into Hephaestus' and Apollos' ears before turning back to Piper.

"You wield the blade of Helen right Piper? Katoptris? Yet the beautiful dagger doesn't have a worthy sheath to handle it. Because of this I have asked for help in making you a worthy magical item. A magical sheath will be delivered to you before the end of the week. This sheath, similar to those in the stories of King Arthur, will heal anyone who wears it and cannot be removed by anyone but the wielder. What do you say? Will you accept this while we work on your request?" Aphrodite inquired of her obviously disappointed daughter.

"That would be great mom. Thank you."

Piper then did something she hadn't done since finding out who her mother was two years ago. She went up to her throne waited for Aphrodite to shrink down to her size and gave her mom an emotion charged hug. This brought tears to Aphrodites eyes as she then stroked her hair softly and sent her back into line with the rest of us.

"Leo. Much like my brethren have done for their children, I offer you something as well. I offer you unlimited access to my forges and blueprints to allow you the opportunity to complete any projects that you want to accomplish over the years. And I already guessed that the first thing you want to do is build a statue of your friends in commemoration of your accomplishments during this war. Am I right?"

Hephaestus booming voice carried over to Leo who was frozen in shock at what he considered the greatest gift he could possibly receive.

"Y-Yeah dad. Great. Th-Thanks." He managed to stutter out barely recovering from his stupor.

"Now then. Annabeth Chase. Come forth my daughter. The only one of the seven who chose immortality. Is there anyone here who would deny that my daughter is deserving?" Athena questioned the entire throne room as Annabeth knelt in front of her before rising to her feet.

As soon as those words left her mouth Leo stepped forward immediately. Frank made to stop him but I held him back. Mostly I was curious as to what he was about to say. Frank and I swore not to blab about Annabeth after we both saw what she'd done but Leo wasn't with us. So what did he know exactly?

"I will. She doesn't deserve this. At least, not without giving an explanation for her actions." Leo declared before continuing. "We all know that she was dating Percy, and has been since the end of the titan war. So I would like to know when they broke up and why they decided to keep it a secret since I clearly saw her making out with one of my siblings not even a week ago."

At this Hazel and many of the people behind us gasped, while Piper and Aphrodite along with several of the other female goddesses just looked sad.

"You dare accuse my daughter of such things! How can you-" Athena started to shout before she was interrupted by Apollo.

"I sense no lies in his words Athena. I am the god of truths. So I believe it would be wise for Annabeth to explain herself before we start doing any blasting. So, go on then Annabeth. Either refute these claims and convince us that Leo must be mistaken and was confused when he saw you cheating. Or explain what you were doing on the night in question."

I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of justification for what was happening to Annabeth right now. True, Percy had asked me as a second request not to tell anyone about what she had done, if only to keep our morale and unity high so people wouldn't choose sides amongst ourselves during a time of war. But doing it here in front of the council where you can't lie and everybody is a witness was the perfect way around such a dumb request anyways.

"Fine. Fine I'll explain myself! Yes I kissed your half brother David. Yes we've been secretly dating for the last few months but its all Percy's fault." She angrily spit out while her words shocked some of the people present I couldn't wait to hear how she believed this was Percy's fault.

"Do you remember three months ago? When my squad full of most of my half siblings were ambushed and killed down to the last man right before reaching camp borders. We later found out that one of us had left a trail for Gaea's forces to follow having come back from a successful quest. Percy confessed it was him after I nearly tore the camp apart in my grief and to get some answers. After that I decided it was over between me and Percy. So what if I didn't flat out say it. It was obvious to everyone. And David was the only one around who bothered to try and comfort me after what Percy had done to my siblings. So yes I was happy with him, or at least I thought I was. But I realized I just needed a friend. So I will take the offer of being lieutenant to my mother. I earned this. Nothing you can say will redeem Percy in my eyes."

A look of absolute rage crossed over Hazel's face. And before everyone's very eyes she walked up to Annabeth and slapped her across the face before starting to scream at her. Piper immediately leapt in after her, I assumed to stop Hazel but then I noticed it was to get at Annabeth too. The scene would have been funny if it didn't have the possibility of evolving into a free for all pretty soon so Frank and I had to intervene and pull the girls apart.

We had finally pulled them apart and had them on opposite ends of the room before Hazel stated in a deadly calm voice that reached every ones ears over the general noise of the people in the room. She still had a look of absolute fury on her face but her tone made us want to catch each and every word she said.

"You stupid stupid girl. For a daughter of the wisest goddess you sure are blind to the truth aren't you? You truly think Percy, our best tracker next to Thalia would leave behind a trail obvious enough for Gaea's monsters to follow? He lied to you! I can't believe you didn't notice even after all this time. We all knew who was responsible for that ambush. Who it was that had messed up and been followed. We just assumed you were in denial!"

"Explain yourself Hazel. Before this escalates into further acts of violence." thundered Athena with a commanding tone of voice.

"I'll explain. Since Hazel's right, we all thought it was obvious" Piper interrupted before Hazel could. "The person who was careless and had your entire squad wiped out was you Annabeth. Don't look so shocked. How could it possibly be Percy who's trail was followed when he was on his own quest in the opposite direction of your squads. He loved you though, and saw how upset you were getting and so he wanted to relieve you of your pain. If I remember correctly at one point you pretty much had collapsed in on yourself in your grief and were nothing but an empty shell. So he lied, told you it was his fault so that you could take out your frustrations on him. Instead you merely turned away from him didn't you? Never even asked him why or how he could do what he claimed."

A look of comprehension then came over Piper's face as the pieces to a theory she had all seemed to fall into place. "This is why he did what he did. I noticed a little over a month back that he seemed to have given up looking for answers. This explains why he seemed to accept that dieing to defeat Gaea was ok. You're the reason he chose to give up looking for a different way to beat the giants!"

Piper then turned to look at me for confirmation of her latest guess into why Percy offered up his life for our victory. Everyone in the room wanted me to deny this claim. If anyone knew what Percy had gone through it would be me, his best friend and confidant.

I just stared expressionlessly straight ahead and could do nothing but give a curt nod to confirm her suspicions.

Denial followed by a dawning look of comprehension then sadness and finally regret all marred the features of Annabeth Chase. Tears leaked from her eyes as she realized what a fool she'd been. Surprisingly Athena of all people spoke up next, but what she said wasn't to comfort her daughter, but merely explain what she believed everyone had already known.

"Annabeth, what they say is true. Perseus asked me for help on this matter. Had I known how you would react I would have given him different advice. He wanted to do anything to relieve you of your pain. Knowing this I told him to take the burden off your shoulders completely until you were strong enough to handle it. My guess is, he never told you the truth afterwords like I assumed he would. He must have loved you very much daughter. Choosing to have you hate him instead of hating yourself for what had been done."

A stifling silence descended upon all of us after hearing the wisdom goddess' words. This was, I decided, the perfect opportunity for me to say my piece.

"Father if I may add something." After receiving a nod from him to continue I then turned to face Annabeth and Athena.

"He told me what he would say to you Annabeth. He said goodbye to all of us individually but I asked him what he would say to you hoping he could move on without regret. And you want to know what he told me? He said he wanted you to be happy. Even though he didn't love you anymore, not after betraying him like that. To someone of his nature who holds loyalty as the most important of beliefs your betrayal was too much to handle. Even so, he wanted you to live a happy life with the person who comforted you in your time of need, which is why even though he wanted to he never harmed or endangered your secret boyfriend." I took a deep breath before I could say this next part I knew must be said.

"You are, and were one of the greatest fighters, thinkers and heroes during this war. All of this personal business with Percy aside, you never once purposely or willingly risked the life of any one under your command above what was absolutely necessary. For this reason, and this reason alone, I believe you should still be made a goddess." I smiled slightly at the surprised expression on her face, since I wasn't done and next came the catch I could hopefully get everyone to agree to because of what they'd heard.

"However, you were born Greek, you fought as a Greek, and will remain a Greek. So I ask the council, if she is to be made a goddess let her stay a Greek goddess, as a Roman I cannot follow nor pray to a person like her."

An uproar soon erupted from the other gods. Some agreeing with me, some saying she didn't deserve immortality, and some shouting for the sake of shouting it looked like. Artemis of all people quickly came up with a compromise.

"I move to allow her godhood. She will remain in her mother's domain as the minor goddess of architecture, artistry, professions and" at this a mischievous smile crossed her face while Athena just sighed in relief "pranks, trickery, and deception."

"Haha, hahaha. And I thought you didn't have a sense of humor Artemis." Hermes roared in laughter. "Considering the latter is partly in my domain, I wholeheartedly approve of her stipulations for ascending into a goddess. I assent to Jason's request. She will not be given a Roman aspect, and she must embody all of her domains no matter how much anyone else dislikes them."

Athena had a slight scowl on her face throughout his say but didn't argue further, she knew it was pointless.

The rest of the council looked like they wanted to argue some more but after having realized how long we'd been standing here and trying to finish they all quickly agreed as well. The Roman demi-gods including myself, Frank and Hazel seemed satisfied with her punishment. Piper, Leo and everyone else in the room didn't share our fervor it seemed. Oh well, it was their problem now.

"One last thing. Since it was Percy who took your pain off your shoulders, and you still betrayed him. I add that in the event of you having children, none shall be named after him as a weak form of redemption. No one will be Perseus, Percy, Percival, Jack, or any feminine versions of his name. In addition these sanctions shall be adhered to for a period of no less than thirty years before we allow a cabin to be built in your name at camp half-blood." Poseidon called out before everyone else dispersed.

"When you have children and decide to send them to camp half-blood, they will be allowed to stay in your mothers cabin, until such time that yours is built." Poseidon continued where he left off.

Annabeth just seemed to remain in her state of distress since she realized how much she had messed up and didn't even react to Poseidon's words. Everyone else in the room, demi-gods included all just seemed to agree with what he said. Percy was his son after all. He probably blamed her for his death even though I knew for a fact Percy chose it willingly, he was not forced into accepting it because we were backed into a corner during the war.

Jupiter then cleared his throat and motioned Annabeth to stand in from of him. "With the agreement of the council we hereby grant you immortality, Annabeth Chase, Goddess of artistry, architecture, professions, pranks, trickery, and deceit. Step forward while we bestow upon you our power, then eat ambrosia and drink nectar to complete your ascension."

Annabeth just nodded numbly and followed all the instructions given to her. After it was all done and over with, Athena shrunk down to her size, put an arm around her and flashed away. Everyone else in the room decided to head back to the Argo II for our journey back home. Before Poseidon flashed away though I had one last thing to ask him.

"Lord Poseidon. A moment of your time." He stopped the glow that was beginning to surround his body, raised an eyebrow in question at me and met me halfway to his throne.

"My apologies, the company I seek is actually Lord Neptune."

Saying nothing, and merely shifting into his Roman form Neptune patiently waited for me to start.

"Percy, well before we left for the Doors of Death, he asked one last request of me. He told me how you informed him of the location of your daughter after he lost his stepfather and mother. In order to help him get through that rough patch in his life. He asked that when it is time to take her to Camp Jupiter, that I be the one to help her get there and protect her and look out for her while she's there. So please Lord Neptune, could you get me into contact with her?" I pleaded with nothing but sincerity and truth reflecting in my eyes as he seemed to weigh the value of my words.

"A strange favor you ask of me son of Jupiter. Percy was my favored son in my Greek aspect however, so I will grant you the information you require. In fact I ask that you check in on her from time to time before she has to leave for camp. You of all people should know how tough life as a child of the elder gods is. She is only a little over a year old as of right now but I will explain to her mother everything you will help with before you visit. The information will be given to you by days end." Having said this, Neptune decided to flash out immediately, no doubt to grieve as Poseidon for the loss of his son.

And me, well I decided to just go to my cabin for now and see if I could finally get that nap in that I missed out on. Later on I would explain to all my friends what we had to do about Percy's little sister. For now though, my biggest worry was deciding which pillow was the quickest to help me drift off to dreamland. \

It might not have been the ending that I wanted to this war, but from here on out, nothing would stop me from living the happiest life I could. My friends, all of us, we deserved a little peace after everything we'd been through. And I would make sure to fulfill my promise to my best friend to the best of my ability.

* * *

RotF

* * *

_4 months later Rome, Italy_

**3rd Person POV**

As soon as shadows engulfed every corner of the city and the sun had fully gone down three tall and mysterious figures appeared at the end of the street Via Claudia. They headed straight for the monument that was impossible to miss at this distance.

"Quickly, we must finish our work here before dawn" a shadowy figure spoke to her two companions as she walked to the center of the historical landmark after gaining easy entrance.

"Don't rush us, no one will even know we're here, do not forget. This is also my domain." The tallest of the three wearing a hooded cloak spoke out as he kept a look out in case any one decided to be curious and investigate what they were up to.

"That may be, but we are risking much by recruiting this individual. We cannot afford to start a war before _he_ arrives. I may be all seeing but not even I can accurately guess if our chances will improve with this person on our side." The third figure expressed his concerns in a deep baritone while walking in circles and looking at the ground as if searching for something.

"Perhaps, but no risk and no reward. For all of his accomplishments, he is already forgotten. The world moves on dismissing what it is he gave up his life for. Fortunately we can fix that and harness his potential into a greatness that can help us survive _his_ arrival." The female of the three explained before walking towards the second of her companions.

"Aha. Found him. Now to pick the lock and crack the door so to speak. We can afford no error while releasing him if we do not wish to fight a second enemy. This will take a bit of time but I think we can be gone before the sun rises."

Several hours later a bright flash of light appeared as fast as a bolt of lightning and illuminated the arena. Gone as fast as it came the light which originated in the center of the Colosseum served only to confirm the completion of whatever task the three individuals had come to accomplish.

"It is done. Quickly, let us go before anyone comes to investigate what just happened. On the off chance this place is being monitored we cannot afford for our cargo to be taken from us after all the work we just went through." The female and apparent leader of the group ushered out quietly. She instructed her partner the shorter and stouter of the two to pick up the body of someone that definitely hadn't been there before the flash of light. They all then moved for the exit and to started their trek back to wherever they came from.

"You know I never asked who we were after. I just came along cause I was bored. So who is this guy? And where are we anyways?" The tallest and second of the strange companions asked his accomplices.

With a slight smile on his face the deep voice of the third answered as if talking to a child. "We are in Rome, Italy. Specifically the Colosseum. And as for who this is. Well, this is the one outside hope we have of aiding us in our survival to whats coming. Meet Perseus Jackson. Forgotten hero of the Greek and Roman pantheons. Surely even you've heard of him."

Eyes bugging out wide in surprise and slight irritation at being talked to like that, the taller of the two men could do nothing but gape like a fish. "And you guys think I'm dumb. Well here's hoping it all works out for us. We need all the help we can get to stand up to _him_ after all."

"We certainly do." The female answered before moving closer to Percy and softly stroking his hair as he seemed to be moving about a bit in order to calm him down. '_Rest for now young hero. For what is to come will take strength and courage that even you may not be able to muster. Like your pantheon before us, our hopes now lie on you young hero. Worry not though, for unlike they, we will help you as much as we can along the way. Unfortunately even if you have been forgotten by them, the world needs you to return once more.'_

* * *

**A/N** don't forget to read and review. Point out any confusions along the way and improvements that can be made. Also, I know some of you probably wanted the action to commence and get started in this chapter but I just wanted to clear up a lot of details that I left murky in the first two chapters while giving out the rewards. And as many stories as I've read, not many people reward any one but Percy. Wanted to fix that in this story. Next chapter reveals many answers and gives a brief glimpse of those who haven't _forgotten_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** Now then, updates on this story will be a bit more irregular now, they won't be every day or in any pattern so sorry about that. If you have the time and are interested check out my other story I just posted. Still early for that one too but they all start somewhere. Oh and one more thing, I don't know how I didn't pick up on it earlier but every time I wrote someone's POV I did it in first person. Probably isn't the best way to do that so from here on it'll change. (yet another thing a beta reader could've pointed out to me)

"Normal speech"

'_flashback'_

**Reyna**

_3 years after Gaea's downfall_

Reyna couldn't help but sigh as she took the exit merging into I-495 E heading to Long Island. Driving across the country from San Francisco took the better part of three sometimes four days. Unlike flying though, this gave her plenty of time to sit and leave her to her thoughts.

A lot had changed in the three years since the end of the Giant-Olympian war. Well, a lot had changed in her personal life, for demi-gods everything had stayed the same almost. No matter how you looked at it, the gods had failed in their various promises they made during the awards ceremony.

She snorted as she remembered the promises Athena had made. Of course she had dropped many of her old prejudices against the Greeks, but it seemed that Athena for all her wisdom was still very flawed. Reyna couldn't help it if some old prejudices occasionally resurfaced if only fleetingly. Promises of finding the right people to teach the true history of all heroes had been just that, promises. In three years the only history of any heroes they had received was by word of mouth from any that knew Percy and old textbooks of Greek and Roman mythology. The ever popular excuse from the gods being they were still searching for the 'right' person to teach such lessons.

She tried not to get too lost in her distaste of some things Greeks had caused and focused once again on her destination. Reyna had decided to visit her long time friend and fellow Roman, Jason Grace, at Camp-Half Blood.

Following the reconstruction of both camps for demi-gods Jason had tried to live in both worlds, rotating the time he spent in each. Unfortunately he found himself stretched too thin trying to keep up with duties to both camps and the self imposed secret mission to be there for Percy's little sister. So in the end he decided living in NY was the better option for him.

Picturing the bright and cheerful face of the little girl brought a smile to Reyna's face. Unlike Percy, who always seemed confused and a grumpy trouble maker, Tracy Williams was a little bundle of energy always running around camp and bringing laughs to everyone's face. She was very mischievous, but she rarely got in trouble, always flashing everyone her wide, watery, sea-green eyes in order to worm her way out of any situation.

Also differing from Percy, no one seemed to be able to try and successfully scold her after she presented them such a cute and innocent face following any of her misadventures. She was definitely related to him if you knew what to look for, and yet their differences in personality were subtle but very noticeable. Hermes cabin had tried to claim her as one of their own but Jason had shot that idea down by saying he knew who the father was.

For one reason or another he didn't seem fit to inform anyone of who she really was after he'd brought her to camp with him a little over a year and a half ago. At first Tracy had been happy with her mother, just enjoying all the attention Jason and his friends would shower on her on their occasional visits. Five of the friends of prophecy plus Reyna would all take turns visiting and playing with her throughout the year. Her mother must have been having a hard enough time dealing with her own problems though and eventually called Jason to tell him to take her away as she couldn't deal with her anymore.

So Jason being the ever dutiful protector sort, flew down to Florida and retrieved her before any monsters picked up on her developing scent and managed to kill her. His new gift of extinguishing his scent had gone through quite a work out while he was moving her from Florida to New York. On the way Jason made sure to tell her everything about the gods, including the fact she was of Roman descent not Greek yet they were staying at Camp-Half Blood.

It wasn't all fun and games for the two of them though, Reyna recalled. She'd volunteered to go with Jason to pick Tracy up. Reyna remembered how Percy had asked for her to be included in helping Tracy in some small way. She aimed to help her as much as possible even if originally it was just to help wield Riptide efficiently. She foolishly thought that since Tracy was so young they would have little to no trouble in picking her up and taking her away. Nothing is ever so easy when traveling with a child of the big three let alone two.

Almost as soon as they set off they were set upon by telekhine that had been drawn to the growing scent of a sea demi-god. Having to battle the telekhine while protecting Tracy had been tiring and difficult. Following that exhausting battle and then escape the both of them had to once more fight a squad of monsters except this time lured to the scent of Jason. Lycaon had been tracking Jason for years hoping to catch him far away from his forces and had found the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge.

Having never trained much in his gift from the gods, Jason was forced to use it over and over again back to back in order to hide his, Tracy's and Reyna's scent from all the monsters out with a vendetta. By the time they made it to camp Jason had collapsed from exhaustion and was committed to bed rest for almost three days in order to recover. The last leg of the trip had proved to be the most disastrous however, as they had encountered the infamous "Bear Twins" who were looking for any demi-god to kill and had somehow stumbled upon the three of them.

Jason, running on empty from fighting and using his gift so much, Reyna having fought non-stop for days and often keeping watch while Jason rested, both thought they were done for. Both feeling as if they had failed in protecting not only a young demi-god but also the lone member of Percy's family they could get in touch with only offered their heartfelt apologies to their dead friend and wished that there was some way to get out of this alive.

Frowning, Reyna tried to recall once more what had happened next, as she was about to collapse from exhaustion when someone had decided to help. As if by divine intervention, this mysterious person had shown up at the last minute and assured them he wanted only to help. Anything he said after that was lost to her as she and Jason had both collapsed and when they woke up they were in the camp infirmary surrounded by their friends and Tracy was with them in bed sleeping peacefully.

_Flashback_

"_Jason! Miss Reyna! Please, please get up. I don't know what to do. Please, I'll behave, I'll ask less questions, just please get up and don't let these furry bad men hurt you. Please." Oh how Reyna wished she could grant little Tracy's wishes. Right now though, having suffered a crushing blow from Agrius that had knocked her back into a tree, Reyna knew she was done for._

_Jason wasn't doing much better. Barely avoiding Oreius time and again he was slowly being pushed back and away from Tracy too. Sooner or later he'd fall and then the both of them would be easy pickings for these detestable Bear Twins. All she could do for now was try and make sure Tracy's last moments weren't tear filled ones and full of dread._

_Reaching over slowly and wiping Tracy's tears from her eyes Reyna tried to calm her down if only a little while Agrius was busy cheering his brother on."Shh. Don't cry sweet Tracy. We won't go down that easy. And we're almost at camp. Help should be on its way soon enough. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to any of us. If you're scared just close your eyes and we'll take care of the rest ok? Just close your eyes, good girl." Hoping she was right but knowing their cries for help would never reach camp from this distance Reyna prepared to face her end like a true Roman, head on._

_As Tracy wrapped her arms around her and continued to sob quietly Reyna turned towards Agrius who had finally turned and started walking her way. Putting her fiercest glare on, Reyna moved Tracy behind her to try and protect Tracy as long as possible._

"_Give up Roman. We know you have no strength left. So we'll make you a deal. Hand over the child, we know she is of the sea. We can smell it on her. Hand her over and we'll let one of you walk back to camp. There's two of us, so we only need two demi-gods, its either you or your friend fighting my brother. Pick now, I won't offer you mercy again." Agrius taunted her as he could tell the two fighters in front of him and his brother were in no shape to fight back._

"_Never! You won't leave here alive if you dare to lay a paw on her you monster. Even if I have no strength left, I will not bow to you." Reyna used her sword to pick herself off the ground. She slowly rose it in front of her as she prepared to go down fighting._

_Agrius only smirked as he rushed in and backhanded her away from Tracy. The last thing she saw as darkness crept upon her was a tall man dressed in a blue hooded sweatshirt that threw a shadow over his face, wearing jeans, and regular work boots. Wielding what looked to be a spatha he stood protectively in front of Tracy and looked her way before he spoke._

"_Don't worry Miss Reyna. No one will lay a hand on Tracy here. Rest now, you've certainly earned it." His light chuckle at something Tracy must have said as both their voices faded away allowed Reyna to feel comfort knowing Tracy was being protected so she finally passed out._

_Flashback end_

When she awoke a few hours later she frantically searched for Tracy only to find her lying on her side right next to her sleeping. Apparently she had refused to leave her side when she was brought in. She had finally fallen asleep shortly before Reyna woke up by cuddling into her side.

Jason and her were bombarded with questions soon after getting up by Chiron, and their friends that knew where they had been. Neither she nor Jason had apparently been conscious long enough after the strange man's initial appearance. When they questioned Tracy about what she had seen the only response they got was a cute scrunched up face of confusion and vague explanations. Almost as if she was hiding something.

"He beat those ugly teddy bears up." She said excitedly finally recounting her experience. "Then he picked up Miss Reyna and Jason and brought them to camp. He left after that since he said he was only out for a walk and decided to help."

Anything else they had asked her was just a variation of the same answer. Finally they decided she was too young and must have been too frightened to really take in what had happened.

This was the little girl that Reyna had decided to pay a visit to. Sure she acted like everything was always fine and like she was having fun, but Jason had told her how she got sad when she wasn't around. For whatever reason, Tracy had taken a liking to her and Reyna had taken a liking to Tracy. It was because of this that Tracy felt closer to Reyna than any of the other girls that looked after her sometimes. Something that Hazel and Piper never failed to gripe about, in a joking manner though.

Even though Tracy claimed not to remember much about that day, Tracy would always talk about the 'cool and awesome' guy that had saved them all, while sometimes letting slip a detail or two she hadn't before.

Reyna hadn't told anyone else but because of everything she'd been told she was beginning to suspect that man and the guy that had helped her out in old Rome were one in the same. It had happened this past year in fact, when she had met the second mysterious person. It was as she was visiting Percy's final resting ground, against godly orders of course, that she had been attacked by a large group of monsters.

Old Rome is always a dangerous place for a demi-god, but she always went out on Percy's birthday to at least lay some flowers on what she considered his grave. The first time had been fine, nothing happened and she had spent a few hours just talking about her year. The second time she'd had to leave early because the mortals had decided to renovate the Colosseum or something. She grew overconfident the third time and had been attacked.

Much like the first time she saw him, it was only as she collapsed that he had shown up. She hadn't passed out this time however, and instead watched a masterful display of swordsmanship as he quickly slew all the monsters. The only reason she initially didn't believe it was the same person was because this time he was wearing a sea green hoody and used a katana instead of a spatha. Not to mention that he only spoke a few words to her before checking no more monsters were around and quickly leaving.

As she was only a mile away from camp now Reyna decided to forget about what she was thinking and focus on having a nice visit for her favorite four year old little girl.

Having pulled into the parking spot next to the camp van Reyna went in search of Jason to find out where Tracy was playing. Jason found her first though and told her that Tracy had apparently decided to play hide and seek again. His sour expression was due to her announcing it only as she was already on her way out of the cabin at top speed saying he was it. Jason asked Leo, Nico, Thalia, and Piper to help find her as he had to do something important.

"Sorry Reyna, I would find her myself but I found this weird note lying on my dresser by my bed. Says something about wanting to meet in private and it's important. I have to meet up with Nyssa beforehand though and looking for Tracy will make me late for the meeting. I don't know who was able to get into my cabin and I want to find out what's so important so could you go and look for her please?" Jason asked even as he began to walk away.

Sighing in defeat Reyna only nodded and took off looking for Tracy. Sometimes she wondered if she really was a daughter of Neptune, considering how well she could sneak away and hide in stark contrast to Percy's general clumsiness anywhere outside of battle.

Over the next half hour Reyna had hunted for the little girl all over camp. First she'd checked the obvious beaches and lake shores. Then came the mess hall, climbing wall, and amphitheater. Finally she caught a glimpse of the giggling girl as she ran out of the shower's no doubt having messed with them in some way. She quickly and silently followed the mischievous girl as she wove in and out of the other campers headed to do their chores or training.

Reyna only paused once to tell Nico that it looked like she was headed to play with Peleus again so that he'd inform the others to gather there and that she'd been found. Having kept her distance only to humor Tracy, Reyna finally decided to show herself in hopes of her giving herself up after losing at hide and seek. Instead Tracy only laughed and bolted for half-blood hill somehow putting a lot of distance between the two of them in a very short time.

Reaching the top of the hill and deciding to use the high ground to her advantage Reyna started to look for where she might have gone in hopes of Tracy being smart enough not to cross camp borders. What she found to her surprise was Tracy approaching a seated figure under a tree. Slowly walking up to the person deep in conversation with Tracy, she wanted to thank them for finding her. Instead she froze as she recognized that this person was the very same to save her a year and a half ago and probably the same to help her when in Rome.

Looking around her hoping to find someone to help her either capture or chase this guy away from Tracy, Reyna found Jason a few feet away but closer to the two having also just come up to this spot. This must have been where the note said he had to meet the person about something important.

For his part, Jason did indeed remember this guy being the same one from over a year ago. Despite knowing this he didn't understand how Tracy had gotten here or why she seemed to be talking to and making him cry.

What caught Reyna off guard though was not that apparently Tracy was really excited while talking to him, no it was the fact that judging by his posture and the tears streaming down his face this man was ready to either bolt from the place or barely restraining himself from hugging her.

What she heard next from behind her absolutely terrified her.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Thalia screamed as an enormous bolt of lightning shot from her spear tip and straight towards the two of them.

**Jason POV**

Jason couldn't believe what was happening. After talking to Reyna, and meeting with Nyssa he decided to take his time reaching this meeting place. It was probably one of the Hermes kids again, trying to get him to help on a joke or prank or something against the hunters since Thalia was his sister.

All thoughts of that happening flew out the window as he saw Tracy talking to the same person to so effortlessly take down the Bear Twins a little over a year and a half ago. Not only did he take down to powerful monsters, he also somehow managed to get him and Reyna into camp and into the infirmary while having enough time to sneak back out without anyone seeing him, in the middle of the day.

He would normally have announced his presence immediately and called Tracy back to him had he not heard their conversation and decided to find out what they were talking about.

"You feel just like me. Are you really him? Are you who Jason talks about all the time?" Tracy reached out to touch the now kneeling persons face.

Before she reached it though he caught her hand and softly said "Maybe I am, but you can't be here right now. Please, go back to your room. I asked you to keep a secret last time we met remember? Can you keep this a secret too? You shouldn't be here, please just go back to your room."

What kind of secret did Tracy keep last time? Had she really talked to him and lied to everybody else about knowing what happened. And why was he claiming to be someone that Jason talked about a lot, had he previously been spying on him? Trying to find out more answers to his questions Jason noticed Reyna walking up and trying to figure out what was going on too.

"Ok I'll keep a secret again. You feel just like me. So that means you are him! Yay I'm so happy now. Why are you crying though? You shouldn't cry, you're not sad are you?" This time her little hands did reach his face as she tried to wipe away the few tears that had leaked out from the guys face.

"I'm crying because of you. No that didn't come out right." The blue hooded stranger proceeded to wipe his face with the back of his sleeve.

"You shouldn't cry because of me. Family isn't supposed to make each other cry!" Tracy reached out to hug him as she stepped even closer to the blue hooded man.

If Jason was caught off guard by this innocent claim what he heard and felt around him next absolutely dumbfounded him. He felt a crackle and drop in the atmosphere and smelled ozone. His brain was a bit behind his instincts as he couldn't quite work out what was going to happen next.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" his sister screamed from the top of half-blood hill as a giant bolt of lightning shot from the end of her spear and straight towards the guy an Tracy.

**Thalia POV**

_A little before the confrontation_

Today had been a long day. Normally she had no problem visiting her brother. In fact she rather enjoyed it for the most part. Teasing him and Piper never seemed to get old, especially since even though they looked older, she could always manage to get at least one of them redder than a tomato with her words.

Now though she was running around camp chasing after and tracking down that abnormally cute little girl she couldn't help but love and feel extremely annoyed with. It must be a child of Neptune/Poseidon thing to manage to irritate her so easily and so often. Yet she couldn't help but like it just like she did with Tracy's older brother.

Sure at first she was irritated that Percy had never bothered to fill her and Nico in on this apparent secret relative of his. They had known each other for years and were the closest of friends for goodness sake! Then again she couldn't really blame him after the whole debacle with Annabeth.

Pushing that thought out of her mind, Thalia focused on just cheating and deciding to track Tracy instead. Tracy had deemed Thalia a cheater for tracking instead of normal seeking after she had been found in under five minutes on several occasions while playing hide and seek. Thus, Thalia had had to promise not to track her like she would normally do in order to be allowed to play again with the adorable little tyke.

Finally locating her tracks she took off like a bloodhound on a trail and headed straight for half-blood hill towards her old tree. Seeing Nico step out of the shadows of the tree dragging Piper with him she only nodded and continued to run to the top of the hill.

Once she reached the top she instantly spotted where the little girl had run off to. She was in front of a blue hooded stranger, the same one that had apparently saved her but that she knew personally was a rather dangerous individual. He had run into the hunters only once or twice over the last couple of years, but both times had evaded all their questions and had even injured a few of them after they had tried to subdue him and ask who he was.

The only thing running through her mind right now though is her own experience with losing Jason. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if this stranger somehow managed to kidnap Tracy just like Lupa had taken Jason. After all, they knew next to nothing about him except that he had saved them because of Tracy and was now back and within reach of Tracy. Blue hood down there was also very dangerous after what she had witnessed in the hunt and heard from Reyna and Jason.

Instantly fear shot through her as hundreds of kidnapping scenarios powered by her own fears raced through her mind. Not even thinking or considering what was happening, she decided to shock him a bit to get him to back away.

Then another fear ran through her, one that instantly put her over the edge in emotional turmoil. What if that person down there knew about Tracy? No way was she going to let the last living member of Percy's family be taken. Not after she had failed him so by allowing him to die. Not after she had lost him, after she had cried herself to sleep on countless nights because her favorite cousin was dead. No, not happening on her watch. This guy was going no where near Tracy.

Demi-god powers rely on emotions just as much as training however and she overlooked her emotional state before she called down a bolt of lightning to shoot at the guy. It wasn't until it was halfway there that she noticed how seriously overpowered it was and she began to fear she would hurt Tracy too.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" she had shouted, hoping to chase away any bright ideas he might have had about a kidnapping. Instead after seeing how big the bolt was what she saw caught her completely unawares.

The blue hooded stranger whose face was strangely covered in shadow displayed an ungodly amount of speed and picked up Tracy to throw her at Reyna while shouting "Reyna! Catch her and get her out of here!"

He then proceeded to summon water out of thin air and spread it around himself as if hoping to catch the bolt of lightning so it didn't hurt anyone else. All this was done in less time than it took for the bolt to cross the forty or so feet that Thalia had sent it from her location at the top of the hill. He was instantly hit straight in the chest and driven through a tree crashing down some twenty feet away from his original position.

Although relieved at having missed Tracy, Thalia was more than satisfied at having gotten this potential kidnapper away from her if not outright killing him because of her attack. That is, she was relieved until Tracy once again shocked her and everyone else that had witnessed what had just happened.

Trying and failing to break free from Reyna's grip on her Tracy shouted out the last thing anyone expected to hear. At the same time, the hooded stranger was slowly getting to his feet, blood leaking from his mouth, his shirt and sweatshirt in ruins, he looked up and nearly put everyone in a catatonic state when combined with Tracy's screams.

"Noooo! No. Let go of me Miss Reyna. Please I have to help him. Let me help my brother! Big brother! Please be ok. Percy! PERCY!"

**A/N **so that's that. worry not, I will fill in many of the details that have been left out of this chapter. I hope this chapter keeps people interested and curious about what's going to happen now that Percy's back.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** thanks for the reviews. While this chapter may seem short, rest assured that I have another 75% complete one that will be posted within the week to make up for my lack of updates. Oh and ignore the names of new characters, I'm just not original so I used names from other cartoons and stuff, don't worry this won't be a crossover or anything, I just wanted to give people a name and the ability to look them up to see what they look like. They're not exactly OC but they are definitely not of Rick Riordans crafted universe.

"Normal Speech"

_'flashback or thoughts'_

**3rd Person POV**

With a groan, Percy slowly tried to pick himself up off the ground. His sweatshirt was in ruins, even so, he was grateful it had managed to take so much damage from that attack in his stead. His entire right sleeve was missing and the front of his sweatshirt was full of holes and burns. Even his necklace containing his sword was visible through all the damage done.

As he rolled over and onto his knees he noticed his hood was barely being held together. He grimaced as he realized the magic that allowed his hood to obscure his face completely was about to be undone. As he looked up and met the gazes of his old friends, his hood fell off. His face was for the first time since he'd shown up, completely exposed.

Looks of shock, denial and confusion met his gaze. Spitting out a mouthful of blood he searched for Tracy in order to make sure she was ok. With a sigh of relief he got to his feet. Reyna had a hold of her, and so he knew that for the moment she was out of harm's way. If what he'd seen of Reyna last time still held true, he knew she would lay down her life to protect Tracy.

Still, it slightly worried him that Tracy was doing a whole of yelling and trying to get free. Unfortunately he had no idea what she was saying, what with all the ringing in his ears. Thalia sure didn't hold back on that thunder bolt.

Another flash of lightning caught his attention, and he instantly went on the defensive. Pulling out his trusty ever shifting sword, he whirled to face the new threat. What he saw instead was his friend and comrade Heero Yuy.

Holding his hands up in the air to show he was unarmed Heero spoke. "So it looks like they didn't believe you huh captain? Do you want us to take off now before they can do anything to try and take you down. You realize we can't allow anything to slow us down right now."

Wincing in pain, and thankful for his ability to read lips, Percy walked over to his friend before answering. "Blew my eardrums out so don't be surprised if I stare. Lets get out of here, I was attacked before I could say anything and too many people know I'm here now. I won't get the privacy we need to explain. Besides they aren't the only ones who can help, they were just my old friends and easiest to reach."

"Understood Captain. Lets get out o-" Heero started to say before he was interrupted.

"Percy! Is that really you? Please, please don't let this be some trick. Percy are you really back?" Reyna asked, slowly making her way towards the two standing under the blown up tree.

What she was seeing with her own eyes should be impossible, a fantasy or cruel trick to taunt them. There was no way that the person standing in front of them was Percy Jackson. Tears slowly building in her eyes, she set Tracy down but kept a firm grip on her hand to stop her from running off. She had to confirm that what she was seeing was real.

Percy looked over at who he recognized immediately as Reyna. The years had changed many of his friends in more ways than one, but Reyna had always made it a point to visit Old Rome. He'd run into her a few times there, always hidden away though. Even if it was selfish, he'd secretly felt overjoyed at her risking her life to visit what she believed to be his tomb.

"Percy?" Once more Reyna was asking him to confirm who he was.

Percy knew he couldn't stick around much longer. A lot of questions would be asked. Questions he couldn't answer right now. And he had a lot of questions for them himself, except his would make him angry for even asking. Deciding that staying here any longer would only work him up emotionally, he decided to leave and cutoff any more chances to be detained or interrogated.

A frown on his face, he took in the state of his clothes and appearance. He just knew he would get chewed out for this, even if it wasn't his fault this time. Reinforced clothes were hard to get a hold of, and everyone was going to be mad he'd ruined another set.

Looking up he smiled gently at Tracy, so as to let her know he was alright and not to worry. After getting a small but worried smile back, he looked to each and every one of his old friends. The smile had been replaced with a look of indifference for Jason, Leo, Nico and Piper. A look of hurt but more prominently anger, graced his features for Thalia.

None of his former friends knew how to react. They didn't know if they should be overjoyed at seeing Percy again, or hurt at how he looked at them. So they did nothing, just stood frozen in place, as if afraid that to move would shatter the reality that Percy was standing in front of them.

Thalia actually flinched from the look Percy gave her. It wasn't that she didn't expect it, but she was hurt that he looked at her like that. A look she now recognized as the same he would give to Annabeth those last few days before the end of the Giant war. The look of betrayal.

Percy held a hand up to stop Reyna's slowly advancing steps. He smiled at her, he was truly happy to see her and how protective she seemed over Tracy. It was only a small smile but he regretted not being able to talk to her more. He turned to look back at Heero and nodded his head. "It was a mistake coming here. Let's go."

Lightning started to crackle over his body, Heero put a hand on Percy's shoulders, instead of hurting him however, all it did was spread to cover Percy as well. The lightning started to intensify and before anyone else could react, the two glowed brightly before disappearing in a bolt of lightning into the sky.

The last words Reyna heard before they disappeared were from Heero to Percy and then his answer.

"Where to now captain?" Heero asked.

"To ask permission from an old wolf. I have a bone to pick with my cousin of sorts, but we need permission to enter." Percy answered.

Nearly devastated that once again it seemed she had lost Percy, Reyna whirled on all the others in the clearing. Before she could tear into them for their inaction though, what she had just heard clicked in her mind. She knew exactly where they were heading next and when they got there, Reyna would be waiting.

Instead of sharing what she'd worked out, she just clutched Tracy's hand a little more firmly before fixing Thalia with a glare. With a low, cold and hard tone of voice she wanted nothing but answers from Jason's sister. "So Hunter. Mind telling me what that was all about?"

* * *

A few miles away from Long Island Sound, in an almost empty parking lot, a bolt of lightning crashed into the ground. From the flash of light, two scruffy looking young men appeared.

Percy broke off and headed straight to the rental car he and Heero had left there earlier. As he climbed into the drivers seat, he couldn't help but think back to how this had all started, how he had escaped his self imposed prison sentence. It had all started a few months after they had beaten Gaea...

* * *

RotF

* * *

_4 months after Gaea's downfall_

Laughter, screams, pain, rage. Percy felt as though he was being assaulted by a maelstrom of emotions. He vaguely remembered what was causing them. Gaea mocking him as he was stuck with her until his very soul lost the ability to contain her. The unparalleled amount of pain he had to endure to contain the raw power that was Gaea. Anger, rage and hate from his prisoner all washing over him at her situation.

It seemed like a lifetime that Percy endured this, far longer and more painful than upholding the sky. The cycle of emotions was never ending, when one fell off another picked up to continue this torture.

Yet, at a point where he was sure that the rage ending signified the mocking laughter was to begin, he was suddenly engulfed in a dome of silence. Confusion came to the forefront of his thoughts. Was this some sort of new trick from Gaea? To lull him into a false sense of security.

Instead of his daily torture, what he experienced now was akin to a restless sleep. He was falling in and out of lucidity. Percy started hearing snatches of conversation that made absolutely no sense to him. He realized that somehow he was no longer with Gaea. He was on the move and in the arms of whoever had freed him.

"...asked...we were after..."

"...Rome, Italy..."

"...Perseus Jackson..."

That last one caught his attention. Whoever this new entity was, they had him captive. Trying to move around and find out more he stopped as he felt a gentle hand stroke his hair. Calming down at the soft touch, Percy decided to rest for now and ask questions later. Falling deeper into unconsciousness, he only hoped that whatever happened, he'd be able to handle it.

_1 month later_

Feeling groggy and disoriented Percy once more came to surrounded by strange unfamiliar voices. He knew he had been out of it for a long time, but right now he felt too weak to do anything but rest. Moving around a bit, Percy heard someone take notice of him.

"He awakens. Summon them. Now." A deep booming voice called out, being careful not to aggravate Percy.

"Alright already. I'll get them. Would it kill you to say please? Geez, you've been so bossy ever since we got back a month ago." Another unfamiliar voice, this time mocking but friendly.

Slowly opening his eyes, he blinked a few times to get used to the lights in the room. Looking around he noticed he was in what appeared to be an infirmary. Dark wooden walls with lanterns hung up every few feet. Percy found himself lying on a low, comfortable bed, with soft sheets and warm pillows.

Footsteps approached and his mysterious caretaker went to the door to open it and let people in. In walked an elegant looking woman radiating power, dressed in a white kimono and with glowing silver hair. Her deep black eyes, so similar to those of his uncle Hades, did nothing to take away from her striking beauty.

Following her was a tall imposing armor clad figure. He wore a helmet with wings on the sides arcing backwards and two ram horns on the front curving upwards. Percy couldn't help but compare him to the many viking picture books he'd had as a kid. Especially since this man had a long white beard and wore an eye patch over his right eye, walking with the aid of an impressive looking spear that served as more of a staff for the moment.

Last walked in a dark skinned man, wearing what seemed to be a wrap around skirt. He too wielded a weapon but it was a sort of curved sword, a khopesh if Percy remembered history class. He wore no shirt but did have Egyptian looking jewelry, a gorgerine on his neck. And finally what truly distinguished him from a normal man was the fact that he had two different colored eyes. The right eye was the color of gold and the left one was silver. A plait of long dark hair running to mid back completed his look.

As they all finally walked into the room the woman looked to the others in the room who had been there already and spoke. "Leave us. We have something to discuss with this hero."

The few other people in the room bowed their heads and left without argument. Before they closed the door, one of them, a woman with striking golden eyes, came back and left a glass of water at his bedside table.

Bewildered, Percy blurted out the first thing that popped into his head at seeing them all take positions around his bed. "So... wheres the costume party this year guys?"

A musical laugh escaped the woman's lips as she held her hand up to try and cover it up. "I believe introductions are in order young hero. Forgive us, but you are not known for your patience so please allow us to explain how you aren't battling to hold Gaea back in her imprisonment. We would rather soothe your worries before we explain who we are and what we did to you."

Nodding along dumbly, Percy just accepted that they would do what they wanted since he was in no position to argue.

Smiling at him gently the woman started their stories. "To begin, we know that you performed a sacrificial ritual to seal away your most hated enemy Gaea before she could awaken. We also know that in order for that to have worked you needed to sacrifice your immortal soul as well as do it willingly and without hesitation. And lastly, we would like to let you know that what you did was very stupid. Rest assured that Gaea is still imprisoned even if you are no longer powering it."

Sputtering at her claim, Percy bolted upright into a sitting position. "What! I did it to save my friends, and the world thank you very much. There was no other way to beat her."

"Who gave you the ritual Percy? Why do you think there was no other way to beat her." Asked the gold and silver eyed man.

"My ancestor of sorts, Rhea of the titans. She didn't trick me into doing it either of that's what you're implying." Percy retorted hotly.

"We make no such claims young Percy. I merely wish to point out that she did not know as much as she led on about the ritual. You see, long ago when the titans first imprisoned Gaea and overthrew their father Ouranos, they did so with the help of the same ritual you used. A ritual of MY creation I might add. So that is why I say what you did was stupid. Neither you nor Rhea, knew everything about it and yet you performed it anyways. There was a very high chance of you messing it up and not getting it to work. The damage that would have caused would have been enormous." The lady in white interjected.

"What?! Who are you guys anyways? And what do you mean that you gave the titans the ritual, you make it sound like you're not titans and I can tell none of you are Greek or Roman gods either." Percy asked as he looked closely at each of his guests.

The dual eye colored man looked to his two companions and decided to answer. "Introductions are in order then. My name is Horus, god of the sky, war, and energy, and member of the Egyptian pantheon."

Tall, old and armored went next. "I am Odin, god of war, victory, and death to name a few. King of Asgard, and I belong to the Nordic pantheon."

Smiling softly at Percy, the woman who had called him stupid answered last. "My name is Izanami-no-Mikoto, goddess of both creation and death and a member of the Japanese pantheon."

Mind reeling at what he had just heard, Percy collapsed back into his pillows. Maybe he was still dreaming or something. Laying back and feeling that this was too much to absorb, he decided to get some rest and build up the energy to deal with this when he woke up. As the world grew dark around him, he knew that this was going to turn into another major headache.

Izanami laughed softly at his reaction and Horus spoke up. "I can only hope that he is much tougher when facing enemies, as opposed to finding out someone's name. We haven't even gotten to why we decided to free him yet and this is how he reacts?"

Frowning but silently agreeing Odin voiced his opinion. "We have our work cut out for us if he is truly the one to help. Let us wait and see if he awakens before we leave and come back later."

* * *

A low groan alerted the gods of their charge's return to consciousness. It had been only an hour since his little episode. In that time, the gods had worked out what to say to him and in what order.

Deciding to tease him a bit, Izanami spoke up before any of the others could, "My my Percy. I've heard of people getting nervous when meeting a celebrity, but to know that your very name causes someone to faint is very flattering. Unless of course, you fainted in my presence for another reason?"

With a jolt, Percy realized that one, what had happened a short while ago was not a new torture from Gaea and two, he had fainted. He, Percy Jackson, bane of Titans, slayer of Giants, scourge of monsters, defeater of Kronos, and Gaea's living prison had fainted!

Opening his eyes and leaning back further into his pillows he could only say one thing, "Kill me now. If any of you have any mercy, kill me now or I'll just die from embarrassment. There's no way my friends will ever let me live this down."

Bolting upright, he frantically looked around. "My friends! Where are they, they haven't been injured or captured have they?"

Laying a hand on his shoulder, Odin spoke up. "Calm yourself child, your friends are alright and in no danger. We must finish informing you of how you got here before you take any action though. Are you ready?"

Relaxing after hearing that his friends were alright, Percy nodded in acceptance.

"As we were saying," Izanami started "we are gods from three different pantheons. This shouldn't come as too much of a shock to you since you have known for years now that there is a separate Greek and a Roman pantheon. We are of the currently three strongest next to your own."

"In fact, my descendants have a base near Mt. Olympus in Brooklyn. The twenty first nome of the House of Life. They are of course stationed on the East side of the river, mainly because the sun rises in the East, but also because we gods wished to keep our paths separate from others." Horus added helpfully.

Percy couldn't say he was surprised to hear that there were other Pantheons of gods. Not even the fact that there were some stationed in his home city was surprising. He could guess why no one ever found out about other gods, it would probably lead to war just like why the Roman and Greek demi-gods were separated.

Even so, this new information led to more questions than answers. Answers Percy was determined to get. "While I appreciate being told all of this, that doesn't explain why I am here. I doubt its some sort of reward for something I did, since you pointed out that I'm not even in your Pantheon. I can only guess that you need something from me or someone I know."

Odin answered his question, a small amount of respect entering his voice from Percy getting to the point of the issue so quickly. "Well said child. However, what we have to say cannot be handed out lightly. So as much as you may dislike this, we will have to test your strength to make sure you are up to the task of helping us."

Percy frowned in confusion, so Horus decided to elaborate. "We believe you are the best person to help us in what is to come. But we are not fools, we will neither force you into help nor have someone that isn't good enough aid us like your own gods did to you. So to avoid this we will test your strength among other things. Only if you do well enough to impress us will we reveal what we know to you."

Even though Percy was tired by all the fighting he'd been forced to do since entering the Greek world, he was also curious about what they had to say. Curious and wary, because it might be helpful for him, but at the same time it could also be the latest of a long list of dangers he'd have to face and overcome.

"Alright then, I'll take whatever test you want. How do you want to start this?" Percy asked.

Izanami blinked in mild skepticism. "That was accepted far easier than I thought it would be."

Percy shrugged. "Maybe, but if this is about some sort of danger to my friends and family, I want to be able to help."

"Very well. Before we begin, let us see if what we fear has come to pass as a result of your foolish tampering with unknown rituals." Percy scowled at being reminded once again by the same goddess how dumb he was.

"There is a glass of water at your side. You are a son of Poseidon so you should be able to control the water in there. Can yo do that for us?" Izanami continued before Percy decided to object at once again being called foolish.

Percy sat up in his bed in order to fully concentrate on his assigned task. They did say he was to impress them or else he wouldn't be told anything. Although he had been feeling a bit weak, he figured it was probably from being in bed so long. _'_

_Which reminds me, I have to ask how long I've been here. It can't have been too long since I beat Gaea so I wonder how much time has passed. Even if Thalia wasn't tortured, I imagine this is what she felt like after being ejected from her pine tree.' _Percy inwardly mused.

Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the water, willing it to rise out of the glass. When that didn't work, he stuck his hand out in the hopes that it would help his concentration and ease the control over water. Once again nothing happened.

Feeling panicked now, he stood up and got out of bed approaching the glass of water. Thrusting both hands in front of him, he once more tried to manipulate the water to his will. Nothing happened. Despair filled him as he couldn't quite process what was happening. His powers had never failed him before. Not even the rivers of the underworld were out of his power to control.

"As we feared," Izanami's voice was laced with sadness, "because of the method you chose to imprison Gaea, using your very soul to capture her, you have lost your immortal powers bequeathed to you by your father. In short, you can no longer use any of your old demi-god powers."

"What?! No no no no. Tell me this is some sort of joke. Tell me that I can still help somehow. There must be some way to reverse this!" Percy shouted, anguish clear in his voice.

"Well young hero," Odin started reluctantly, "there is a way to possibly get your powers back. They won't be exactly the same and I warn you now, this will add even more trials to what we have in store for you."

"No Odin. Not a single hero has completed those trials in the last hundred years, and if he has no powers it will make it doubly difficult for him to complete them!" Horus said in disbelief.

"I agree with Odin," Izanami interjected, "those trials are certainly difficult, but there is no other way for him to find what he has lost. If he chooses it, who are we to stop him from trying?"

"Fine then. It will be his choice, but I will also warn you Percy Jackson, these trials will not be easy. They are more difficult than most of the accomplishments that you have earned over the years. Think carefully on whether you wish to walk this path."

Pulling himself together, and determined to succeed, Percy squared his shoulders and faced Odin. "I'll do it. My powers are a part of me. To have lost them now, it feels as if a part of me was ripped away and I know I won't be the same until I get them back."

"One last warning. If you embark on this path, you cannot turn back nor contact anyone for at least one full month. This is to ensure you complete your task on your own merits, and no one else's. Do you still wish to continue knowing this?" Odin said to him, meeting his gaze in full.

Slightly faltering at realizing he couldn't contact anyone and tell them he was alright, he tightened his resolve and nodded.

"Very well Percy. We will have someone come in and explain what you must do in order to regain your powers. Do not take these tasks lightly, many a hero before you has lost his life trying to accomplish this. We will leave you now and prepare for your departure. Rest for the moment, you will need all the strength you can muster for what is ahead of you." Horus explained before he started walking for the door.

Wanting more answers, but knowing he is essentially useless to them for the moment, Percy accepted that he needed his powers back before he received any more explanations. Smiling in gratitude at their offered help to regain his powers, he watched them all leave slowly before getting back into bed. If this was as bad as they said, he would definitely need all the rest he could get.

* * *

As the trio of gods left the room, Izanami thought on what they had just taken a part in. Waiting until they were a fair distance away she voiced her concerns.

"Was it necessary to lie to him in order to get him to help us? From what we've heard and what we've seen, he would have helped us anyways. If only because its the right thing to do and to protect his friends."

Odin glanced at her with his one good eye. "Would he have though. While his actions against Gaea seem noble, from another point of view he was merely giving up and running away from his problems. Running away from the fight. The right thing to do what have been to beat their opponents in battle no matter the consequences and rebuild everything afterward. Those poor excuses for gods should have been more directly involved in their help too."

Although agreeing with the last part, Izanami still felt she still had something to add. "But what about letting him see his friends and family? I'm sure if we explained things to him he'd be able to stay away and focus on his training. He has loyalty ingrained into his very being, someone like him would surely use his love for his friends to motivate himself to work hard and stop the abomination."

This time it was Horus who looked to Izanami before answering. "I agree with the All Father. Yes the boy is loyal, but only to those that deserve it. Was it not the love of his life who betrayed him first and at the drop of a hat? Isn't there word that he blames and is angry still at his father for his failure in protecting his mortal mother and stepfather? And if he really trusted his friends so much then why did he hide what he was going to do from all save one who he likely strong armed into silence? So ask yourself, would allowing him leeway to inform and visit his friends really be beneficial?"

Izanami scowled at having all her points be expertly and efficiently shot down. Even if they had valid concerns, it still made her mad that they so easily dismissed her own points in Percy's favor. "Fine, I shall win no arguments here. But be warned, if you only see the bad in him and not the noble, we risk pushing him into _his_ arms instead of helping our cause. If we manipulate his every action we are no better than the ones who abandoned him to his fate."

Sharing a look between the two of them, Horus and Odin could only hope that what Izanami pointed out may never come to pass. For if _he_ swayed Percy to _his_ side, then their chances of surviving what was to come would be drastically reduced.

* * *

**A/N** so many more questions and very few answers. What is it that the new gods lied about? How is it that Percy actually survived his imprisonment with Gaea? Who is _he_? All these and more _might_ be answered next chapter. Sorry about not updating in so long but you know, thats life. Once again, read review and if you want, offer to beta read.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N **Back from Japan, oh yeah. Took me a lot longer to finish than I would have liked, but well you can't force yourself to write something that you have no clue about. Enough chit chat. Enjoy.

"Normal Speech"

'_flashback or thoughts'_

**Reyna POV**

"So Hunter." Reyna spat out, barely keeping control of her voice. "Mind telling me what that was all about?"

Thalia recoiled as if she had been physically struck. While there was a notable improvement between Greeks and Romans, the animosity was still there for all to see. She didn't expect it to come from Reyna though, of all people. Reyna and a few of the others had worked closely together all throughout the last war and gotten along fine. This was surprising to see her lash out so violently.

"Wha-what d-do you mean?" Thalia stuttered, still not able to fully compose herself. And how could she, after all that had just happened a scant few minutes ago.

"I mean," Reyna growled out, visibly enraged, "why you thought it'd be a good idea to attack Tracy in such a violent way. Its only luck, and by the good reflexes of that demi-god that she isn't hurt!"

Jason faced Thalia and solemnly nodded his head in agreement. "I agree with her sis. Why did you think it was such a good idea to hurl that bolt of lightning at Tracy? You know we're supposed to protect her, not hurt her."

Thalia looked between Reyna and Jason, before stopping to look at Tracy. Tracy for her part looked torn between despair and happiness, and wanted nothing but to get out of there. As if sensing she was being looked at, she flinched after meeting Thalia's gaze and hid behind Reyna.

If nothing else, this action hurt Thalia even more than the verbal lashing she just received. Never had she had Tracy flinch away from her, not even after the few times she had scolded the little girl.

Thalia took a deep breath to try and relax so she could compose herself. "It wasn't supposed to be like that alright. I panicked, I thought she was going to be kidnapped or something, and I meant to only attack the person that she was talking to. That bolt was only supposed to be a warning for him to back off, not an actual attack. And after seeing what happened, I'm sorry, so sorry."

Dropping to her knees she beckoned for Tracy to approach her. "Can you ever forgive me Tracy? Please, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Reyna looked down and behind her to see what Tracy would do. Predictably Tracy only hid herself further after being addressed by Thalia. Letting out a sigh, Reyna prepared to take her away from what was an uncomfortable situation for the young girl. She grabbed a hold of Tracy's hand once more and started to walk away.

"Wait a minute," Jason hastily tacked in before they could leave, "before you go, I have to know. Tracy, it seemed like you knew that guy. And after what you called him…" here Jason had to pause to swallow the lump in his throat, "was that… was that really Percy?"

Everyone snapped to attention hearing this. It was Nico, who had been standing off to the side, who voiced his own thoughts before anything else was said. "Maybe right now isn't the best time to be asking this Jason… I mean, she's only four and… well as much as I want to know the answer; I want to make sure she's okay before that. She's obviously been through a lot. We need to give her time to recover."

Leo and Piper, after overcoming their shock at what had just happened, were also eager to hear the answer but nodded in agreement to what Nico had said.

Reyna was also curious about what Tracy had yelled out, but she had planned to ask Tracy in a more comfortable and private setting. It didn't take a genius to figure out that right now, she was in a very delicate state of mind. Tracy had been attacked, man handled and emotionally exhausted all in the last ten minutes.

Looking down at her, Reyna reached down to gently run her hands through Tracy's soft, raven colored hair hoping to help her calm down. The little girl instead of answering Jason just looked at Reyna with a slightly panicked look in her eyes.

Sighing at the non-verbal message she received, Reyna just kept walking pulling the little girl along. "Now isn't the time for this, let's get her to calm down a little. I want to know just as much as the rest of you do, but I have patience. Tracy's been through a lot, no thanks to you Thalia," another glare was directed at the daughter of Zeus, "and so have the rest of us. Let's take a few minutes to settle our nerves before we do anything rash that we might regret."

**Jason POV**

The others could do nothing but watch as the two girls walked away. All of them were anxious to hear the answers Tracy might provide. Nico for his part just looked at the others in the clearing, shook his head and walked away. Leo and Piper decided to depart together and leave Jason and Thalia alone.

Thalia got back to her feet but looked longingly in the direction Tracy had disappeared. "Do you think it was him Jason? Could that really have been our cousin … our best friend Percy? Why would he leave though?"

Jason shook his head at her question. "For our sake, let's hope not sis. If he's here then what does that mean concerning Gaea. As much as I wish he was back, I have a bigger fear of Gaea's return. If it was him though, it doesn't help that we just blasted him through a tree and it was only lucky that Tracy wasn't caught in that blast as well."

Thalia winced at having yet another person point out how stupid she had been in attacking the both of them. She had always been brash and often leapt into action without thinking things through. Never had she regretted it as much as now, not after seeing how Tracy reacted.

Jason could see the internal conflict his sister was going through, but he knew that there was very little he could do about it. For now, they would all have to wait and see what Tracy had to say. A part of him did resent Thalia a little bit, if she hadn't attacked the demi-god near Tracy, maybe they could have gotten some answers out of him. Jason could have at least talked to him; it was the entire reason for meeting way out here after all.

"Let's go and meet up with the rest of the guys Thals," Jason said as he too started walking back to camp, "and who knows, maybe that guy will come back at some point. We just have to hope he wants to talk and not fight when that time comes."

As the two Greek and Roman siblings walked away and back to camp they didn't notice the shadow that stepped out from behind a tree. A raven haired girl clad in dark clothing walked out and into the clearing the demi-gods had just occupied.

"Well that was certainly entertaining. I'll have to bring news of this to the others at once." She said, before her form quickly shifted into that of a falcon and took to the skies.

**Percy POV**

Having been on the road and deep in his thoughts for the last hour or so, it was a miracle Percy hadn't crashed yet. As it was, Heero was never as grateful for the invention of seatbelts and passenger airbags as he was now.

After a second particularly close call with another car on the road Heero spoke up to get things under control. "Hey captain, maybe I should drive huh? Anyways, are we flying or did you want to drive all the way to California?"

Snapping out of his depressing thoughts, Percy turned to his friend and second in command, "It'd be faster to fly, but I don't trust the skies. By now, I have no doubts that both Thalia and Jason have informed their father of us. We will not be safe in his domain."

Heero seemed to agreed with that assessment. He threw his feet up on the dashboard and reclined his seat back to get more comfortable. "Well on the way there, think we can pick up Gunnar? It'd give us a third person to help drive to California without having to make too many rest stops."

Arching an eyebrow in surprise, Percy turned to face Heero. "I thought he had his own quest in Canada right now? How is he 'on the way' to California?"

"You know him," Heero just waved his hand as if to indicate it was a trivial matter, "he obviously sent someone else instead. Either that or he's already done, since he called me not too long ago."

Rubbing his nose in irritation, Percy did nothing but sigh at what he had to put up with. True, he had signed up for this of his own free will, but it's not like he was given a job description beforehand.

"What happened to the good old days, when the biggest concern I had was what to eat for breakfast?" Percy mused wistfully.

Heero just laughed before clapping a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Those days haven't existed since you met my gentle and dear old uncle Ryujin captain."

"Right," Percy winced at the painful memories associated with his old teacher, "I had almost forgotten how easygoing he was. Why don't you take over driving for a bit Heero? I've been up for days before this and I need some rest."

Ignoring the sigh of relief from his companion, Percy pulled over and switched seats with Heero. As they once more took to the road, Percy settled in for a nice long nap. While he was gently lulled into the realm of Morpheus, Percy thought back on when it was that he had decided to embark on yet another perilous quest to save the world.

* * *

RotF

* * *

_6 months after Giant-Olympian War's end_

Bloodied, beaten, and bruised Percy limped down a dank, dark stony tunnel with only torches lighting his path every few feet. After several turns and bypassing more than a few doorways he comes to a stop in front of a simple wooden door noticeable only because of the voices heard from within.

As he stepped into the cavernous room, lit by strategically placed lamps and torches, all conversation ceased. The eyes of each of the gods he had met a little over a month ago met his, all reflecting respect and even a bit of relief at his arrival.

Taking a moment to look around, Percy spotted several chairs, presumably for the gods and himself, weapons hanging on the walls, and statues of various unknown deities. It was the ceiling that caught his attention however, as it depicted a massive battle scene. A scene of an army of humanoid warriors facing a fearsome beast spewing fire and what looked like poison every which way.

As he collapsed into one of the high backed chairs, pulling a travel bag onto his lap, Izanami hurried to his side hoping to help him. Before she could get to examine his injuries, Percy held up a hand and began to ask questions.

"I've completed the trials asked of me. I was even told of how the items in this bag-" opening the bag at his feet to demonstrate, "would help to give me powers similar to the ones I used to have. Now before I get some much deserved rest, could you please explain why you released me from the prison I was in with Gaea?"

Odin stepped forward and motioned for the two other gods to take a seat across from Percy. "Let me start by testing your knowledge Percy. What is the source of power for gods, as in what is it that allows such powerful entities to exist in the first place?"

Confused at the random topic, Percy looked between Horus and Izanami as if asking whether or not Odin was serious. "Ah, well…that I know of it's their symbol of power. Like my dad has a trident and uncle a lightning bolt, I'm sure others have their own thing too."

"Partly true, however there is more to a god's existence than just their weapon. Gods exist and have power only because of those that believe in them, they make some sort of sacrifice in their name. In other words, if no one believed in the gods anymore, then they really would become the myths that mortals believe them to be." Horus explained.

Percy just nodded accepting Horus' words to be true. Why wouldn't he? It was a god telling him things about the nature of other gods. One thing immediately bugged him though. "Well that kind of explains why they keep having kids, so they can keep on living and stuff. What about monsters and stuff though? I'm sure that the big bad evil monsters would've faded by now if we forgot about them and since no one is dumb enough to sacrifice to them."

Izanami smiled proudly at Percy, for getting to the crux of the issue so quickly. "Ah, and so we get to why we freed you. What we want to do is explain to you the source of all evil and that which is wicked in the world."

As the quartet was talking, people were continuously walking in and out of the room dropping off bandages, food and drink. A table was set up between Percy and the trio of gods, with drinks and medical supplies within easy reach. He started to clean up his wounds and treat any injuries he'd accumulated while he was getting his questions answered.

Odin gestured around him and to the ceiling above. "Tell me Percy, what do you think the scene above tells us?"

Taking another long look at the statues around him and then the ceiling above, Percy shrugged and said, "Whoever designed this place has bad taste? I don't know."

Musical laughter filled the room. Izanami seemed highly amused by his answer, but decided to plow on with their discussion. "The scene above shows us where evil and the various pantheons of gods first formed. As you can see, at one point, we all worked together to face a great and terrible enemy and to defeat him. Something which the Titans and their parents Gaea, Ouranos, and Tartarus often ignore."

The more that was revealed, the more that Percy grew confused. "This is great and all, but what does it have to do with me?"

"Patience child. We must first lay the foundation before we explain about our motives." Odin groused as Izanami smiled at Percy.

Grunting in irritation, Percy waved his hand at them to continue with their story.

Izanami took up where she had left off. "After we defeated this evil, it was decided to imprison it in such a way as to never be released. It was much too powerful and dangerous for a single god to imprison successfully. So the four strongest factions took it upon themselves to lock away this evil in a way only they knew. Thus the four cardinal keys were created, and guarded by four different pantheons that at the time ruled over a different section of the world. "

"The evil one was locked away in a tomb with access allowed only after gathering all the necessary keys. Each pantheon created a key for the evils tomb, so four keys were made to be guarded. The North key was given to the Nordic Pantheon." Odin interrupted.

"To the Japanese pantheon the East key was given. We have guarded it faithfully for eons." Izanami stated with perfect confidence.

"Rulers of the South and protectors of that key were the Egyptians. Finally, as you were taught, the inspiration of the West and protectors of that domain were the Greeks who later on turned into the Romans." Odin finished for them.

"So what you're telling me, is that this great evil thing is sealed away by four different keys that each one of your pantheons guards. This evil was so powerful it took the combined might of four entire pantheons to subdue it, and somehow all of this involves me? How?" Percy asked as he continued to dress his wounds.

"It involves you Percy, because as per ancient laws that were agreed upon their creation, none of us can reveal the existence of the keys to any living soul from our domain nor can-" Izanami started before getting cut off.

"So? That seems like a pretty good deal. No one can find them, and considering that I as a Greek didn't even know of my relatives the Romans, I'd imagine none of your kids would know of the existence of other pantheons if we didn't know of one so close to us. These keys seem to be guarded pretty closely so what's the big idea with springing me from Gaea's prison?" Percy asked.

"That's the problem. Someone, we don't know who, does know of the existence of these keys. Did you think that fighting two major wars with two of the Greeks greatest enemies was merely coincidence? In each of our domains, we have had to fight the greatest of battles as well." Horus told him with a look of concern on his face.

"My children and their friends have had to face both Amatsu-Mikaboshi and Yamata-no-Orochi recently, two of our greatest enemies. Normally this wouldn't be cause for concern about the keys, but well, I'll let the others explain." Izanami admitted sorrowfully.

Percy turned to Horus first and waited for the explanation. "My descendants had to train and overcome the greatest of our enemies. Apophis or Apep, whatever he is called nowadays."

Percy nodded and turned to Odin to see if he also had to fight a terrible enemy. "Thor's children and others of my kin have had to face Loki and had to recapture the Fenris wolf before he could cause too much havoc."

Horus looked at Percy and saw that he still didn't understand the significance of these acts. "Percy, it was Gaea and her son Kronos who originally guarded the West key. Amatsu-Mikaboshi knows of their existence and has a general idea of their location. He wasn't on our side when we fought the evil one, but he didn't fight against us either and he is certainly old enough and crafty enough to know they exist."

"Although Loki commits acts of treachery often and has tried to take my throne, he wouldn't do so with Fenrir as that would mean his death as well. It is to my understanding that he was manipulated in the hopes of revealing the location of our key since he fought that war as well." Odin explained.

"So you guys think that all these recent fights and wars waged were all to discover where the keys were kept?" Nods all around answered Percy's question.

"I can see how you would think that. Now I have to ask once again, what does this have to do with me?" Percy looked perplexed after hearing everything they had to say.

"As I was saying," Izanami's voice was laced with irritation at being cut off earlier, "we can't tell a single soul of their existence or their locations as was agreed when we defeated the evil one. This includes anyone in our domain or in the domain of another that guards the keys. You my dear boy find yourself in a unique position. As you gave up your soul for the sake of imprisoning Gaea, you were neither alive nor dead. Since you were essentially nonexistent and tossed aside by your gods, we could step in and explain ourselves to you with the hope that you would help us."

Percy's eyes widened in surprise as it all fell into place for him. Surprise quickly gave way to anger however, as he stood and could barely stop himself from destroying everything in sight.

"So I'm just some pawn am I? A convenient use for other gods to play around with!? What gives you the right to d-" He started yelling out before Izanami the usually soft spoken goddess cut him off.

"Hold your tongue Perseus! Do not think we picked you as a last resort nor did we pick you because it was easy for us to do so. You have no idea what we have had to pay in order to bring you here. Remember when I said that the ritual you used was unknown to you? That I was its creator? Freeing you from your stupidly made prison myself would have cost me my own existence, be thankful that I had help from the two next to me or else I wouldn't be here to stand up for you." Izanami's voice thundered out, overpowering Percy's and forcing him to back down.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Percy stuttered as he fell back into his chair. In the short time he'd spent with them he'd grown to like Izanami most out of the new gods. She seemed to be the only one who honestly wanted to help him in some way, the only one that was trustworthy.

"Izanami speaks the truth young hero," Horus revealed "in order to free you from your prison, I, Odin, and Izanami here had to sacrifice a large portion of our power. Apart from the barest help we offer here, we cannot aid you in any battles in the future as we are far too weak and could easily be destroyed."

"Don't look so surprised Percy, unlike your father and other relatives, us gods usually go into battle alongside our children or descendants. To lose the ability to help them pains us greatly, and what's worse is we are weak enough now that we are susceptible to death ourselves." Odin remarked, trying to get Percy to understand what it was that they had to sacrifice to free him.

"Percy, you were neither our last resort nor a convenient excuse to help us with this problem. If you recall, Gaea opened the Doors of Death. If we so wanted to, we could have easily approached any of the other demi-gods that were revived during that time period. We chose not to, as your actions were foretold by the Norns of Odin's realm. So we waited for the greatest of the Greek heroes, we waited and helped him so that his own soul wouldn't be destroyed and hoped he would help us battle our old enemy once more." Izanami spoke with a great amount of pain in her voice. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists, and tears had gathered in her eyes.

Now properly chastised, Percy leaned forward to apologize to the goddess. "I'm sorry, truly I am. I didn't know what I had done and what it cost you. From the sounds of things though, this evil one is worse than Gaea and Kronos. We barely survived those two; I can't possibly be any help here can I?"

"You wouldn't normally," Odin agreed, "The three of us have gathered the greatest of heroes from our own realms and started training them. Much like in the past, we have hope that if we unite our powers once again, we can stop this evil from taking hold or even being unleashed in the first place."

"Before anything else can happen, you must gain control of your new powers and get to know your allies. You have a long and hard road ahead of you…that is if you decide to help. We cannot and will not force you into this. Whether you help us or not is entirely up to you." Horus offered.

Percy was flabbergasted. Never before had he been given an option of helping or not. Usually the choice was taken out of his hands. Be it from a prophecy that involved him, or from one of his friends being in danger so he was forced to help. Looking between each of the gods faces and also taking one more look at the room he was in the choice was clear. He was a hero, as much as he would have liked to walk away he knew that if there was even the smallest chance that his help would stop something bad happening he would take it.

Steeling his resolve and straightening his posture, he looked straight at Odin then Horus and finally Izanami before he answered. "I'll do it, I'll help."

Smiling for the first time since they'd met, Odin called for more food for Percy. Apparently having Percy help called for a celebration.

"Well now that I'm slightly up to date I do have a question. This ancient evil one. What is his name? I don't think calling him 'the evil one' or 'the ancient evil' will do." Percy asked with a bemused expression on his face.

Horus looked over at Percy with a serious expression on his face, "Names have power child. It seems many have forgotten this lesson but that doesn't make it any less true. The true name of the ancient one is locked away and is part of the method for his return. We are thankful that his name has been lost in current times. For now, if you must, just refer to _him_ as _the forgotten_."

Easily accepting this, as it was a very serious topic; Percy asked another question, "While we're here, I'm guessing that none of your children know of the keys yet right?"

Horus chuckled slightly before responding. "That is correct. It is one of our ancient laws after all. We were hoping that you would explain everything to them since you are the exception to that little rule."

Percy groaned, he hated explaining things. That was what Jason was for. He snapped his head up as that was something he immediately needed to know and address. "Since you guys have gathered those heroes in your realms, what about the Greek and Romans? For that matter, if this is such a big threat why haven't you guys notified Zeus about the keys and the risk they're in."

With a deep scowl on her face Izanami prodded Horus into answering. "We have, but that arrogant brat waved it off as if it wasn't a big deal. That idiotic godling actually had the gall to say that even if the ancient evil returned he would strike it down himself since he was the king of the gods."

Percy's mouth dropped open in shock. Then he closed it as he remembered the stupidity he'd had to overcome himself due to Zeus. Jupiter, his Roman aspect, was slightly better but even he refused help sometimes all for the sake of pride and the 'Mighty Roman Empire'. Finally the rest of what Horus had said sunk in and he laughed. It was hilarious for anyone to call Zeus a brat, let alone an idiotic godling.

"So unfortunately Percy, the one to choose the greatest of heroes from the Greeks and Romans must be you. That will have to wait unfortunately, as things with your camp and the Roman camp have yet to settle down." Izanami said to him as his laughter subsided.

"I understand. So what now?" Percy wondered what there was to do before he met all his allies, mastered his new powers and started on the latest death defying adventures.

Horus grinned widely at hearing these words. "Now? Well now we feast and you get to meet other gods. Ones that are actually helpful!"

As if waiting for that signal, a horde of gods entered the room. Young and old, easily distinguishable by their appearance in what pantheon they belonged whether it was Norse, Japanese, or Egyptian. Each one of them carrying something fit for a party. Food, tables, chairs and all kinds of drinks made their way into the cavernous room.

As he watched everyone troop in and be friendly with one another, Percy felt that he'd made the right decision. He also felt a small amount of jealousy, as he wished his own father and other gods could act so friendly with one another. Now there was little to do, but train and help in preventing the _return of the forgotten_.

* * *

**A/N** sorry, left laptop in Japan with my brother, he only emailed this chapter to me this morning. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N **Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so I'm told. If it makes anyone feel any better I had absolutely no contact with any amount of fan fiction in my absence so we all suffered here.

"Normal Speech"

'_flashback or thoughts'_

**Reyna POV**

The world seemed to spin as Reyna walked away from all the Giant-Olympian war veterans. It was all she could do to keep a tight grip on Tracy and walk her back to her cabin.

So focused on taking Tracy away that she failed to fully notice where she was going. Her body was on auto pilot. Her destination Poseidon cabin, which would bring too many unwanted questions down upon her.

Fortunately Tracy tugged at her hand and pulled her towards the guest Roman barracks that had been erected in camp and where Reyna often stayed. Of course it was understandable that her mind was in total disarray. She'd just seen someone that many people thought long gone.

It was unbelievable, should be impossible, and a little frightening that Percy was back. Oh yes, unlike some of the other demi-gods that she knew had their doubts, Reyna was certain that man was Percy.

No other demi-god or mortal that she'd ever encountered had the same shade of eyes as Percy. Not even Tracy, who had the same godly parent, albeit in a Roman aspect, had the same eyes as her brother.

Tracy's eyes glittered and sparkled like polished emeralds when happy and only slightly darkened when angry or annoyed.

Percy on the other hand had a base color of jade stone, and when he was angered they darkened and went deep-ocean green. Similar to a tropical storm when seen out at sea, his eyes would darken more the angrier and longer his rage lasted.

Although both siblings had mesmerizing eyes, they were almost opposite shades of green.

On top of that, Reyna had been in many battles alongside Percy. Fights where they watched each other's backs had taught her many of his mannerisms and how he carried himself. Key details that allowed them to fight so well together. They also allowed her to pick him out from a crowd if need be, from his body posture alone.

Those battles allowed her to memorize his walk, his voice, and even his thoughts at times simply by looking at him. When she'd looked at him today, he had displayed clear regret at having to leave and perhaps a little bit of disappointment as well.

What had really clinched it in convincing her that it was indeed Percy was the glimpse at his necklace on his chest. Rather the necklace and what it was directly behind it.

A scar. A scar from a trident wound. One that had been meant for Reyna, meant to take her life.

It had all started with a quest to spy on Gaea and her allies. Somehow Gaea had been tipped off and tried to ambush them. It was as they were beating a hasty retreat that the giant Polybotes had stepped in.

They had been doing well in holding him off since they couldn't kill him without a god. One misstep from Reyna had nearly ended both their lives. She had tripped and fallen on her back and Polybotes had stepped in to take advantage and kill her.

Percy, ever the self sacrificial hero, had jumped in front of the trident and taken it straight to the chest. Luckily this let Reyna throw Greek fire into the giant's eyes and blind him giving them time to escape. Fortune favored them once more as they had been near a river at the time, allowing them both to jump in and try to heal Percy.

Those scars on his chest never faded though, as Polybotes was created to kill Poseidon and any weapon he wielded would be devastating for any of his kin.

Two of the three scars had been revealed when Percy had been lit up by the lightning from his friend. The third was unnecessary to confirm his identity since Tracy had already done that for them.

Finally they reached the Roman quarters. Reyna sat Tracy down on a bed and went in search of a first aid kit. Even if Percy had taken the hit, Reyna still wanted to make sure Tracy wasn't hurt.

It wasn't until she had checked Tracy over for the third time that Reyna worked up the courage to ask. "Why don't you want the rest of them to know about Percy? I know it was him too Tracy. They're his friends, and we all deserve to know that he's really back."

Tracy, clearly uncomfortable under Reyna's gaze played with the hem of her miniature camp shirt. After a few moments the silence got to the little girl and she was forced to answer.

"He made me promise to keep it a secret," she mumbled out quietly, "and I broke that promise by accident already. I don't want my big brother any madder at me than he is. Thalia already made him leave and I know if I say much more he won't want to come back."

Reyna's features softened at hearing the reasons Tracy had silently begged to take her away from the hill. Pulling the little girl into a warm hug she stroked her hair to calm her down. A method that she used ever since she'd met the little girl.

"Please Miss Reyna, I don't want him to be mad that I told his secret and not come back!" Tracy was close to tears now, "So can we keep this a secret? Please?"

Reyna was reminded that Tracy was still very much a little girl. One that was terrified that the big brother she'd been told so much about wouldn't want to be near her anymore.

Even if she was a powerful demi-god because of her heritage, Tracy had all the fears and insecurities that any other child her age would. Especially after her birth mother had pretty much given up on her and refused to raise her. To finally find and meet your older brother only to see him run away would obviously scare her.

She didn't want to be abandoned again. Not after her mother had already done so.

Looking deep into her emerald eyes, Reyna had to explain to Tracy that Percy hadn't left because of her. "He won't be mad at you Tracy. Don't be scared that people found out about him. It's not your fault. If anything he's mad at Thalia right now for scaring you so bad."

"I'll try and keep everyone from asking you anything else ok sweetie? Just calm down and don't be scared of him being mad at you or disappointed in you." Reyna continued as she tried to prevent tears from running down Tracy's cheeks. "I'm sorry about this but I'm pretty sure I know where he's going next and I'm going to go talk to him so I can't stay as long as I wanted to ok?"

Tracy let out a hiccup and a small sob as she nodded her head while buried in Reyna's arms. "Ok. If you see him can you…can you tell him I'm sorry for saying his name?"

"Of course I will. But knowing Percy, he's not mad at all understand? He's just worried that you could have gotten hurt by being around him." Reyna sighed. "Your brother is rather hard headed so I need to go knock some sense into him."

Tracy giggled at that.

Pulling away from the little girl Reyna still had some serious questions to ask. "I know you can't tell me about Percy," Tracy nodded guiltily, "but is there anything you can tell me about his friend? He controls lightning but I didn't think that Jupiter or Zeus had any other kids?"

Crestfallen, Tracy only shook her head. "I'm sorry but I don't know him. He seemed really nice though!" she chirped happily.

Reyna had a small smile on her face at Tracy's lift in mood. "Well, maybe not nice but definitely powerful. I've got to go now ok? I'll be sure to tell everyone to leave you alone though and if they don't want to I'm sure I can get Hazel here in a heartbeat to scare them away. How does that sound?"

The raven haired little girl nodded happily at possibly seeing Hazel.

"I'll watch over her. Don't worry. I might even take her to Lady Hestia. We all know she loves watching Tracy." Nico's voice rang out from the corner of the room.

Reyna immediately froze at being discovered and listened in on. She turned and before she could make excuses about her conversation Nico decided to explain himself.

Hands held in the air in the universal sign of surrender he walked forward and into Reyna's line of sight. "I also figured out that was really Percy. While everyone else was looking at his face I looked for his SPQR tattoo and the trident he tried to slash out. No one but Percy has that scar."

Breathing a sigh of relief Reyna removed her hand from the hidden dagger in her jacket. "So what do you plan to do with that information?"

Nico only shrugged his shoulders in response. "Nothing. I've known Percy for years."

He walked over to a chair and sat down, "If he decided not to stick around and remain hidden all this time, he must have his reasons. Stupid as they may be. So I'm kind of hoping that when you do find him you kick some sense into him for me. I'll keep everyone away from hounding Tracy in the mean time. Fair deal?"

Resigned to accepting his terms Reyna only turned back to hug Tracy one last time. After leaving careful instructions with Nico on what to say to the others she left.

Before pulling out of the parking lot Tracy and Nico caught up to her for a last request. After promising her favorite little girl she would do as asked, she took off as fast as she could to the airport.

Never before had she been so glad that retired Praetors were given a pension as she was now. Arriving at JFK in time to catch the last plane to California she only hoped she could somehow convince Lupa to let her talk to Percy before she attacked.

Demi-gods weren't supposed to ever come back to the Wolf House after finding Camp Jupiter, and Percy well he'd be attacked simply for 'impersonating' a noble hero. Considering Percy was one of the few demi-gods Lupa liked, she wouldn't hesitate to attack anyone foolish enough to dishonor Percy's image.

In case the wolf goddess wasn't feeling particularly chatty, there was always Plan B. She just hoped she had enough time to carry it out.

* * *

RotF

* * *

**Percy POV** _Sonoma Valley, California 3 days later_

Sounds of combat rang across sunny Sonoma Valley. Unlike the last time he'd been here, Percy couldn't even remotely appreciate its beauty.

Sure Jack London's dream home was an impressive and cool land mark, but right now it served as a battle ground for his two friends and himself against a pack of ferocious wolves. The massive ruins of stones and timber beams giving the site an intimidating appearance.

A wolf launched itself at Percy's back while he was distracted.

Heero stepped in and swung his jutte into the wolf's side smirking when he heard a crunch.

Percy and Gunnar were fighting with their bare hands only. Sometimes they used their powers if in a tight spot but neither wanted to give away too much information on how strong they were.

They would use weapons too if not for the fact that Percy didn't want to kill the wolves and both Gunnar and himself only had bladed weapons available. Still not even Percy had predicted that they'd be treated with so much hostility.

"Explain yourself intruder! Who dares to impersonate one of my greatest Praetors and take me for a fool." Lupa howled from her position in front of the Wolf House.

When he'd first shown up, Percy had hoped to gain permission to enter New Rome. Instead, once catching a glimpse of his face and a whiff of his scent, Lupa had ordered an immediate attack on Percy and his friends.

He gritted his teeth in frustration and once more tried to get the attacks from Lupa's wolves to stop. "I already told you, I don't have the time or the authority to reveal anything to you. I just need permission to enter New Rome and speak to the Praetors. I wish no harm upon any of them."

Lupa snorted in disbelief, "If that were true then you would all lay down your weapons and give yourselves up. Pray for a quick and painless death deceiver! Nothing can save you from your fate after committing such a treasonous act."

Sparing a look at Percy's companions she continued with her demands, "Your friends on the other hand shall be handed over to the proper authorities. They will decide their fate. Their coming here was foolish and could have incited a war."

Two wolves tried jumping at Percy, one at each of his sides. Moving quickly he sidestepped one and kicked the other in the underbelly and away from him. Rushing the first wolf he quickly tackled it to the ground and grabbed it in a choke hold.

"Hey captain," Heero called out to him as he struck out at another wolf, "I thought you said your name and image didn't carry much weight with people anymore."

As the wolf stopped struggling in his arms Percy got up and assumed a defensive position, "I thought so too. From what I know many of the hard earned lessons they learned during war were completely forgotten or thrown out the window once it was over. I thought they'd forget me too."

"Yeah what's the deal? When you said that Roman's were a little aggressive I didn't think you meant it was this bad." Gunnar chimed in.

Percy grimaced and punched another wolf in the snout that was trying to tear chunks out of him. "Just be glad Lupa hasn't joined in. That's got to mean something good right?"

Suddenly an enormous winged shadow loomed over Percy. Startled he looked up trying to see its source. What he saw was an enormous eagle common to Camp Jupiter. Riding the eagle were two demi-gods that he couldn't recognize because of the sun in his eyes.

Both of the demi-gods jumped off and landed near Lupa while the eagle dive bombed Percy. Just as Percy was getting ready to jump out of the way the eagle suddenly dropped to the ground and turned into a charging rhino.

Percy panicked as he realized who that was. _'Oh crap. I was hoping I could talk to them face to face not fist to fist. Damn what do I do now?'_

He braced himself for what he knew was going to be a difficult fight.

"Whatever happens stay out of this alright guys? And keep the other two out of this too." He called out.

A split second before the rhino ran him over, Percy jumped to the side. Hoping that the momentum from the charge would keep him from turning too quickly, Percy quickly got back to his feet and summoned water from all around him to throw at Frank.

He hadn't counted on Frank getting better at using his powers since the last time they fought. As soon as rhino-Frank had missed Percy he had turned into a swarm of bees and attacked. Thinking fast, Percy cocooned himself in the water in an effort to keep him out.

Frank overcame this by shifting into a silverback gorilla before he hit the water and cocking his enormous fist back to swing at Percy. Percy barely dodged the incoming fist in time by ducking but he didn't escape injury as Frank grabbed him before he could escape. Picking him up by the shoulders, Frank lifted him overhead and threw him into a tree.

Because of the tremendous strength of the gorilla Percy didn't have time to right himself mid air and smashed into the tree. It was only the fact that he was a demi-god that allowed him to stay conscious after such a powerful blow.

Groaning as he picked himself up, Percy wondered how many times his back would meet a tree in the upcoming days. He snapped out of his thoughts quickly as Frank had turned into a bull and charged. Oddly reminiscent of the time he fought the Minotaur Percy jumped as Frank got near him and landed on his back. Displaying enormous strength Percy grabbed him by the horns and pulled Frank's head back hoping to in some way subdue him.

It was a futile hope though, because Frank transformed into a kangaroo and Percy slid off of him. Whacking him with his tail before quickly turning to face him Frank then melded back into his human form.

Frank still sported the buzz cut military type hairstyle that he'd worn since they first met. His face had lost some of the baby fat he'd somehow managed to keep all throughout the last war and he still had a muscular build. That however was where any similarities to his past self ended.

Now he held himself with quiet confidence evident in his body posture. He wasn't carrying a bow or any weapon but then again he didn't really need it with his particular set of powers. He still wore his centurion medal from long ago but had forsaken his praetor cloak to come and face Percy. Only his body armor and purple camp shirt showed he wasn't just some tourist visiting the Wolf House. Luckily he wasn't wearing the leather skirts and sandals of ancient Rome and instead wore jeans and sneakers.

Not bothering to look away from his foe, Percy knew that his friends must be battling the other two demi-gods from Camp Jupiter. He could feel the heat from Gunnar firing off fireballs and the electricity in the air from Heero using his lightning.

This was not how things were supposed to go. What he wanted was a chance to talk to Hazel and Frank the current Praetors and convince them to help him. Instead he was attacked by Lupa before he ever reached camp and now had to face Frank in battle and hopefully convince him to help after it was all over.

Judging from the explosions going on around him, that was becoming less and less likely by the minute.

"Who are you and why are you attacking our sacred ground?" Frank asked suspicion clear in his voice.

Frowning at the implication of attacking Lupa and her wolves first Percy nevertheless stayed silent. Frank was a level headed leader true, but Percy didn't want to explain his quest for the Keys here where anyone could overhear him. The less people that knew the better.

"Answer me! How dare you mock us by trying to look like our friend Percy. Was it a titan that put you up to this? Who was it?!" Frank demanded.

Percy kept his silence.

Frank scowled at receiving no reply. "Fine, we were told you were the leader anyway so all I have to do is capture you and we can get some answers."

Frank turned into a lion but didn't attack. Instead he circled around Percy waiting for an opening.

Percy kept an eye on him and moved around so he wouldn't have his back to Frank but he was still surprised when instead of attacking Frank roared.

Startled at hearing the king of the jungle's battle cry Percy jumped backwards and into the shade of a tree.

It was a costly mistake. The moment he felt a blade at his neck he knew he had been out maneuvered. Raising his hands in surrender he only had one question. "How?"

A smooth voice with a slight southern accent answered, "I am Hazel Levesque daughter of Pluto, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. That is all _you_ need to know."

'_Typical. I of course have to get captured by two of the strongest demi-gods Camp Jupiter has to offer.'_ Percy thought to himself as he rolled his eyes.

He took a second to take in Hazel's appearance. Long curly brown hair now pulled into a pony tail, and golden eyes that held a fierce determination. Those were the immediate traits he picked up on as he looked over his shoulder.

Of course she was now taller so the spatha at his neck didn't look quite as comical as when they first met. She like Frank had foregone the purple cloak of her station and wore only a purple camp shirt, jeans, sneakers and her eagle medal.

Percy looked over at his comrades expecting to see them both unconscious. Instead what he saw made him vow to make Gunnar go through **the gauntlet** one more time as he'd apparently surrendered to his opponent and was now sitting down under the shade of another tree.

Heero was looking around warily, whether this was to keep an eye on the wolves that were surrounding them all, or to try and find Hazel whose blade was now at Percy's neck remained to be seen.

Frank moved forward in his human form as he saw that Percy was at Hazel's mercy. "Now that we have you in front of us maybe we can get some answers."

Looking between Frank and Hazel and still trying to identify the third demi-god, Percy decided to play nice. "I'll answer any questions you have but only in private with the two of you."

Slowly lowering his hands to show he wasn't a threat, Percy grabbed a hold of his necklace and offered it to Hazel who was still behind him. "Here is my weapon. I'll let you hold on to it and I'll ask my friends to surrender."

Before either of the two Praetors could react, Percy was viciously slapped by the third Roman demi-god. Not having a chance to face his attacker he doubled over in pain from a knee to the stomach from said attacker. An enraged female voice he vaguely recognized through the pain started to berate him.

"Why! Why did you leave after Tracy said your name? Do you have any idea how worried she is?! Well. Do you?! She's terrified that her only other family member would abandon her just like her mother did. What do you have to say for yourself Perseus Otis Jackson?" the girl he now recognized as Reyna demanded.

He heard Heero in the background snicker and ask with barely restrained glee, "Otis? Seriously captain? Lame."

Glaring half heartedly at his friend Percy swore he'd get him back for that later. He also regretted ever letting Reyna know what his embarrassing middle name was. She was the only person he'd ever told, and now he was tempted to pull out HER equally embarrassing middle name just to spite her.

Rolling over onto his back after he'd fallen on the ground he looked up at Reyna, Frank and Hazel who still had her sword out. "Nice to see you too Reyna." He let out sarcastically, "How have you been? I'm just dandy by the way thanks for asking."

Hazel and Frank shared a mild look of confusion at how calm he was.

"Reyna. Look I know you still visit Rome every year, but… look you have to understand that this isn't Percy. He told me what he was going to do and it's impossible for him to ever come back." Frank pleaded.

Hazel added her own opinion, "You told us that he might resemble someone we know and we should capture him alive, but I didn't think he would fool you into thinking it was Percy."

Apparently the reason neither of the two current Praetors were as shocked as the Camp Half-blood councilors was because Reyna had talked to them beforehand.

Glaring coldly at Percy still, Reyna reached into the pocket of her jeans. "It is him Frank. I have proof."

Not doubting that she did indeed somehow have proof, Percy interrupted before she could pull it out. "I request a private setting for the talk we're about to have. I promise neither I nor my friends will make any moves to try and harm anyone. We only want to talk."

Hazel pulled imperial gold manacles out of her bag she was carrying and threw them at Percy and his friends. "Put those on and then we can talk."

Heero snapped the manacles on without a moments hesitation and kicked Gunnar in order to get him to do it too. Percy wasn't the only one annoyed that he'd been sitting under a tree.

"Man. I should've just gone to Canada instead." Gunnar whined sullenly.

"Yeah about that… captain thinks you skipped out on purpose. Add that you just sat here under the tree while we fought and he looks none too happy right now." Heero told him with a devious smirk on his face.

Paling after catching the dark look on Percy's face, Gunnar cursed himself for being foolish enough to tag along. "Yeah definitely should have gone to Canada."

* * *

After traveling to a Roman safe house that they usually used as a rest stop for quests Frank, Hazel and Reyna brought their prisoners inside to start their interrogation.

Percy and the others were led to a wooden bench against a wall and sat down while Reyna and the Praetors remained standing.

Frank stood between his fellow Romans and started the inquisition. "Introduce yourselves. Then explain why you felt it was a good idea to attack Roman sacred ground."

Heero went first. "I am Heero Yuy. Son of Raijin god of thunder and lightning."

Understanding how he could control lightning now the three Romans were confused about why he referred to Zeus or Jupiter as Raijin.

The guy with long black hair tied into a short ponytail and unsettling green eyes spoke up next. "Gunnar Strife. Son of Loki god of fire, magic, and trickery."

This was even more confusing for the Roman trio. Clearly he was a son of Hephaestus or Vulcan and like Leo had been blessed with control over fire. Why did he say he was a son of Loki?

Taking a deep breath Percy dropped what he knew would be a bombshell. "Percy Jackson." Ignoring Heero's quiet snicker of 'Perseus _Otis _Jackson' he forged on, "Former son of Poseidon, champion of Ryujin, Hapi, and Rán."

All three of Percy's old friends were stunned at this revelation. Although this didn't mean Reyna missed the slight look of guilt that crossed Heero's face when Percy said 'former son'.

Hazel recovered quickest and grew angry. "Lies! Percy is gone. How dare you try and use his name to fool us. Mentioning all these other names for gods as your parents. Have you Greeks no shame? Isn't all the harm you've done enough?!"

Reyna grabbed Hazel before she could pummel Percy or any of his friends. Silently she reached into her pocket to pull out what Tracy had given her a few short days ago.

"He's telling us the truth Hazel. Here's the proof." In her hand Reyna held Percy's old camp necklace. All the beads since Percy had joined were on it, so was his probatio tablet from when he first joined Camp Jupiter.

The most important thing on the necklace though, one that could not be forged or copied was the band of silver etched with a sword and torch design. A ring with the mark of Bellona, Reyna's mother. The very same ring Reyna had given Percy on his first quest where he met the Amazons and had turned it over to Queen Hylla.

Hylla had taken it for what it was. Acceptance from her sister and a reminder that though they may walk different paths Reyna still cared deeply for her sister.

Reyna had gotten the ring back during the war after Percy risked life and limb to bring Hylla's body back after she fell in battle. Percy had helped her through her grief. A few weeks later on his 18th birthday Percy discovered the fate of his mother and stepfather along with the demise of Tyson. It had then been Reyna's turn to help Percy grieve.

She had given him her ring, to show him that even if his family was gone there were still many who cared about him. He swore never to take it off and the war had taken a turn for the better as opposed to total slaughter like before.

Percy's face showed no emotion. "Where did you get that."

"Tracy." Was Reyna's reply.

Frank and Hazel knew of the significance of the ring. Reyna gifting the ring had been the only thing able to snap Percy out of the spiral of depression he was going into. They knew he would never willingly take it off nor allow anyone to try and copy it.

They also knew for a fact that Percy had worn that same necklace to the final battle against Gaea. If the necklace was somehow back then that left the very real possibility that the person in front of them was in fact their friend Percy Jackson.

Hazel started to pace in order to try and organize her thoughts. "How did Tracy get it?"

"I gave it to her. The day she was first taken to Camp Half-blood and attacked by the Bear Twins. In order to get her to trust me and also to promise to keep quiet about what happened I gave her my most valuable possession. It wasn't enough as I had to promise to come back and visit sometime too if she kept quiet." Percy explained.

Frank scowled as this explained why she'd been so tight lipped about that day.

Reyna nodded. "Yes that's what she told me too. And I'm happy that you gave it to her Percy. She values it very much, she told me how important it was to you and that's why she knew that one day you would be back."

Percy slumped in his seat. "Then why did she give it up? No offense, I know it's rightfully yours but why did she give it to you now?"

Reyna lowered herself to Percy's level and looked him in the eyes. "She thinks you're disappointed in her and ran away because she accidentally blurted out your name at camp. She broke her promise and understands if you want it back now. She says she's very sorry and wouldn't let me leave without it. She was in tears because of what happened Percy."

Percy looked devastated at hearing how upset he'd made his sister. "Tell her… tell her it's my fault not hers and that I want her to keep it. It really is my most valuable possession and since she now knows about me I want her to have something of mine."

Smiling at how much Percy valued her ring Reyna nodded and tucked the necklace back into her pocket.

Frank chose to interrupt. "Look I'm sorry to cut this emotional moment short but that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. First off, how are you here Percy and what does this mean about Gaea? Second: why did you try and keep your identity secret when meeting Jason and us when simply walking up to our gates would have granted you instant access. And third, why are your friends," waving a hand in their direction, "calling the gods weird names. I didn't know of any other aspects besides Roman and Greek."

Hazel let Frank finish before she added one last question. "Fourth: why are you really here? What's your goal? I know from personal experience that reviving or bringing someone back to life for something usually spells bad news."

All three seated demi-gods straightened as it was time to get down to business. Exhaling a deep breath Percy looked each of his friends in the eyes, "Tell me. What do you know about where gods get there power from? In other words what allows gods and monsters to exist in the first place?"

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**A/N **This chapter just did not want to be written. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and we are finally getting into action stages of Percy's revival. As always don't forget to review on your way out!


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